New Year’s Myths
We said goodbye (and good riddance) to 2021! And we rang in 2022! Hopefully, this next year will have some better things in store for everyone.
To aid in the good luck here are some fun superstitions from around the world to bring you luck in the new year!
If you are hoping for a year of jet-setting adventure, perhaps you should ring in the new year carrying around an empty suitcase. According to Latin American superstition, this will conjure a year full of adventure.
A common American New Year’s tradition – especially in the South – is eating black-eyed peas. These legumes made their way from West Africa during the Slave Trade to feed the captured people on their arduous journey. In America, the enslaved planted them in their gardens to sustain their families and livestock.
After the Civil War, the consumption of black-eyed peas became more popular. This is thought to be mainly in part that the Union soldiers refused to take the large stocks of unfamiliar food with them as they left. It made black-eyed peas a staple in Southern diets.
From this exploded a variety of recipes. The earliest printed recipe can be found in the 1847 A Carolina Housewife cookbook – serving the legumes with pork.
However, no one knows exactly where the tradition of eating black-eyed peas for good luck and prosperity in the new year came from. One theory is that the enslaved ate black-eyed peas when the Emancipation Proclamation became effective on January 1, 1863. Another theory is based on the Southern phrase: Eat poor on New Year’s and eat fat the rest of the year.
So if you are wishing for prosperity in 2022, cook up your favorite Black-eyed pea recipe and enjoy!
New Year’s parties can get very loud, especially when the clock strikes midnight. This comes from the Chinese belief that loud noises can ward off evil spirits. Noisemakers, fireworks, and shouts were all used to ward off bad spirits who would bring ill-luck in the coming year.
Another tradition is to stock up your cupboards and fridge before the clock strikes midnight. This is done because a bare house foretells a year of scarcity. This harkens back to the Great Depression. Bare pantries were a sign of hardship and food on the shelves brought people comfort.
Finally, a popular tradition in the Phillippines says to open your door just before midnight. This is done to usher out the old year and welcome in the new.
I hope you all have a safe, happy, and prosperous 2022!
Sources:
https://www.oprahdaily.com/life/g29774563/new-years-eve-superstitions/
https://www.countryliving.com/entertaining/g29538911/new-years-superstitions/
Why Do We Eat Black-Eyed Peas on New Year’s?
