Since tonight we say goodbye to 2023 and usher in a new year full of possibility, I thought it’d be fun to review a few traditions I found from around the world.  With each ritual, the hope is to bring good luck and prosperity to all who participate.  So why not pick a few and give them a try?  What do you have to lose?  If nothing else you’ll start the year off with an open mind, behavioral flexibility, and maybe a good laugh.

Enjoy all things round.  Many cultures believe eating round foods on New Years will lead to prosperity.  In Italy, lentils represent coins with their round shape and in the Philippines it is customary to eat 12 round fruits, one for each month of the year, to ensure a year of abundance.  Here in the States, Southerners eat a dish called “Hoppin John” on New Year’s Day which is made of black-eyed peas, pork, and rice. The peas represent coins and the collard greens they are served with resemble paper money.  To further your luck, many families place a penny underneath the dishes.  If you don’t feel like eating something round, wearing Polka dots is also considered a way of bringing in good luck for party goers.

Other food traditions involve eating fish.  Fish move only in one direction, forward.  Eating fish is believed to keep you in pace with the movement of time in the year ahead.  And if you are too full to eat your traditions, there are a couple involving odd food usage.  In Ireland, you bang the Christmas bread on the walls of your home to chase away bad spirits and start the year with a clean slate.  To Greeks, onions are a symbol of good luck and fertility because they sprout when no one is paying attention.  On New Year’s eve Greek families hang bundles of onions above their doors to invite in prosperity.  And on New Year’s day, parents wake up their children by bonking them on the head with those same onions!  

And if smashing is your thrill, Turkey has your tradition!  Smash a pomegranate on your front porch.  The more pieces and the farther apart they spread, the more prosperous your year will be.  And for a little peace, sprinkle some salt in front of your door to boot.  In Denmark, people go around smashing dishes on the doorsteps of their friends and family homes.  The more shards there are the next day, the luckier they will be.  

And then there are the water traditions.  Since the 1900s the Polar Bear Plunge has been a ritual, starting off the year by submerging in freezing cold water.  In Brazil, you would go to the beach and jump seven waves.  Plan carefully, because you get one wish for each wave you jump.  But if getting wet is not your preference, just dump the water out of your window.  In Puerto Rico, they believe dumping a bucket of water out the window drives away evil spirits.  (It may also drive away any possible unexpected guests.)

Want a drier option?  How about wearing the right underwear?  Certain countries, especially in Latin America, believe the color of your underwear can bring good things for you in the next 12 months.  Yellow is for luck, red is for love, and white brings peace.  You may need to do the laundry in preparation!  Clean underwear only for the New Year, please.  

And for those desiring adventure, do as the Columbians do.  They take empty suitcases and run around the block as fast as they can.  This ensures a year full of travel.  But beware of visiting guests who bring their own suitcases.  In Scotland, the “first footer,” or visitor, in the New Year, is extremely important.  Tradition suggests you choose a man who is tall and dark (to protect against Vikings), who comes with gifts of coal, salt, shortbread and whiskey, representing the basic needs of heat, food, and drink. (Now that makes for interesting unwrapping).

And don’t forget your own beloveds…all species of them!   Belgian farmers rise early on January 1st and wish  “Happy New Year” to their family members as well as their chickens, horses, pigs, cows and any other living being in their care.  For me, I will surely cheer in my year with my recent family additions, my two young mini donkeys, Zeus and Apollo.  Their first New Year’s Day!  And it’s me who really needs the good luck (and for them to be on my good side).  So far, they outsmart me, quite regularly.  

However you choose to celebrate, please know the gratitude I feel for your reading my words and being able to share my ideas with you all throughout the year.  Happy 2024!!!