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New Year Traditions & Superstitions

New Year Traditions & Superstitions

The other day a thought popped into my head, “Why is it a tradition to kiss on New Years Eve?”.  I know I certainly look forward to sharing a kiss with my loved ones, but why do we do it?  So after a bit of research I discovered there are several more New Years Eve traditions of which I had no idea existed.  Some of these traditions/superstitions are reasonable and “make sense”, while others are quite hilarious and are questionable. Who knows, perhaps if you follow some of these traditions you may have the best year yet!

 

  • The New Years Kiss:  The tradition is at the stroke of midnight we give a kiss to the ones dearest to us, not only to celebrate the new beginnings but also to ensure the love and affection from our loved ones will continue for the next 12 months.  Failure to do so will result in shear coldness for the next 12 months. So, pucker up people, we all need to share the love in 2016!
  • Stocking up:  Get your cupboards full and every wallet in the house hold loaded with cash! This will ensure a year of prosperity and abundance! Cha Ching!
  • Paying off your bills: Make sure all bills are paid and sent out before January 1st. You don’t want to start the new year off in debt.  This might be a bit tricky, especially after Christmas. But perhaps if we just continue to pay our bills on time, we’ll be prosperous!
  • First Footing:  Now this one is very interesting and quite humorous! The first person to enter your home after the stroke of midnight will influence the rest of your year! This individual is also known as the “Lucky Bird”, they must knock first before entering and use a key!  They also should be baring small gifts such as a lump of coal, a silver coin, a bit of bread, a sprig of evergreen or salt! Ideally this individual should be tall dark and handsome (go figure!).  Make sure the first footer does not, I repeat does not exit through the same door he enters. He and every individual must leave through a different door (back door perhaps?) to ensure the good fortune flows throughout the household.  Now, if the first footer is a Blonde or a Red head and a female, do not let them in!!! They bring bad luck and you MUST shoo them away and use a gun if you have to!!! DO NOT LET THEM ENTER BEFORE A MAN!!! (What century was this written in?) Oh but wait there’s more… The first footer must not be crosseyed, have flat feet, or a unibrow! (Oh my gosh, I’m dying right now!!!)
  • Food:  Black Eyed Peas! Not the band, of course they’re a good choice for your party music! Eating the beans on New Years day is known for bringing prosperity and good fortune. Also, lentils are a good choice because they resemble coins!
  • New Clothes:  Make sure you’re not wearing your raggedy old jeans or frumpy pj’s! Put on new one’s to ensure that you will have plenty of new clothes for the new year!
  • Breakage: Avoid breaking things on the first day, unless you want the next 12 months to fall apart.
  • Letting the Old Year Out:  Open up all of the windows and doors so it’s out with the old and in with the new!
  • Loud Noise: Make as much noise as you can to ward off those evil spirits and to be grateful to live another year!
  • Auld Lang Syne: Oh yes! I could not end this piece without mentioning Auld Lang Syne!  Why do we sing it? Well, that is a great question and I hope you will enjoy the meaning of it as well. Auld Lang Syne is a Scottish song written by Robert Burns dating as far back as 1788.  It’s about “recalling the love and kindness of days gone by, but in the communion of taking our neighbours’ hands, it also gives us a sense of belonging and fellowship to take into the future.” I honestly did not know that! If you would like to sing this traditional song at your party you can click on this link to get the lyrics and more information about the song! But your friends and family might oppose to it! It’s worth a try don’t you think?

So, here’s how to ensure you will have good luck for 2016; pay your bills and stock up (not like a hoarder though), put on your new outfits, so you’ll look your very best for when you grab that tall dark and handsome guy, give him the keys to your house, throw some salt in his pockets and shove him outside just after the clock strikes midnight.  Be sure he knocks first before he uses the key and re-enters your home, sprinkles the salt along the floor and kisses all of the ladies on his way out the back door!  All women STAY INSIDE for fear of being shot by the crazies! Open up all of the windows and doors and yell at the top of your lungs “HAPPY NEW YEAR!” and sing your heart out to Auld Lang Syne (now that you actually know the lyrics). Eat those black eyed peas while dancing in your living room to the band Black Eyed Peas and try not to break a champagne glass during all of this commotion! Whoo, that’s a lot of work, but I think it’s worth a try!

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post as much as I have had creating it! If you are interested in more New Years Eve traditions or superstitions you can go directly to snopes.com to learn about the few items I did not mention.

All 4 One Home wishes you a very Prosperous, Healthy and a Happy New Year!

 

 


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