Thanks for asking an interesting question that was very enjoyable to
research. Here are a few tidbits that I've gathered from the nation's
table, and a little commentary at the end about New Year's traditions
in my own part of the country.
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-----== New Year's Traditions Across the USA -----==
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"You don't have to leave U.S. shores to find unusual New Year's
traditions. One of the oddest is Philadelphia's Mummer's parade,
dating back to 1840. Marchers brave the cold to display bizarre
costumes and even stranger behavior.
On a smaller scale, the Illinois town of Fort de Chartres carries on
an old French tradition where revelers put on cornhusk costumes and go
door-to-door to sing old French tunes.
Some traditions relate to special foods. In parts of the South, it's
traditional to eat hog jowl and black-eyed peas on New Year's Day in
order to bring good fortune. The Pennsylvania Dutch eat sauerkraut to
get rich.
And some traditions come through New Year's words of wisdom. In
Illinois, you're told that what you do the first hour of the New Year
will be what you do most of the year. In Tennessee, it's said if you
wash your clothes on New Year's Day, you'll wash someone out of your
family. And from Hawaii, comes some sensible advice for those whose
parties went till dawn: Don't sweep the house on New Year's Day."
ABC News
http://more.abcnews.go.com/sections/world/newyear_1230/
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All across the nation there are New Year's sports events, parades, and
fireworks shows that have become traditional. Some of the older ones
are California's Tournament of Roses Parade (since 1886,) New York's
Times Square celebration (since 1904,) Chicago's fireworks launched
from Navy Pier, and Boston's fireworks over Boston Harbor.
ManyThings
http://www.manythings.org/voa/01/011230tia_t.htm
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-----== The Midwest: White County, Illinois -----==
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"A superstition brought to Illinois by German farmers says livestock
will be safe from witches if the stables are cleaned between Christmas
and the New Year.
"Certain tasks were not to be done between Christmas and New Year's
Day--among them were knitting, sewing and doing the family laundry...
"To assure good luck for the New Year, one should sleep with a
horseshoe under his pillow on New Year's Eve.
Roots Web
http://www.rootsweb.com/~ilwhite2/wchs_12_21_00.html
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-----== New Year's Superstitions in the Ozarks -----==
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"Residents of the Ozarks have came up with a great many New Year
superstitions. A windless New Year's day indicates a dry summer; a
decent breeze foretells a good summer rain fall; and floods will occur
if the first day of the year is violently windy.
"Calendars should not be hung before sunup on New Year's Day. This
would anticipate the new year and thus bring bad luck with it.
Whatever a person does on this day will influence his activity for the
rest of the year. Therefore to wash clothes will bring a year of hard
work. Washing may also cause a relative's death.
"Should the first visitor on New Year's Day be a woman, bad luck is
expected; but a male visitor will bring good luck. Many visitors
indicate good fortune. Also, nothing should be taken out of the house
unless something else is brought in."
http://llion.org/conway/chronicles/dec25.html#2
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-----== The South: Black Eyed Peas and Hoppin' John -----==
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"In the southern United States, it is believed eating black eyed peas
on New Year's eve will bring luck for the coming year.
"Also from the south comes the custom of eating greens such as
cabbage, collard greens, mustard greens, kale or spinach to bring
money.
"One more from the Southerners: eating cornbread will bring wealth."
Fabulous Foods
http://www.fabulousfoods.com/holidays/newyears/ny.html
"Hoppin' John is a traditional New Year's Day dish in the South.
Legend has it that it must be eaten before noon to guarantee good
luck. In some families, a coin is buried in the rice and peas just
before serving, ensuring a fortunate year for the finder."
Yankee Magazine
http://www.yankeemagazine.com/travel/inseason/holiday/celebration.php
"Here are the southern (US) New Year's Superstitions/Traditions I know
of...
"1. eat black eyed peas and greens (spinach will work) on New Year's
Day -- the peas are for good luck, the greens are for fortune
(money!).
"2. your first guest of the year is a sign of the marriage balance for
the coming year. If a man walks thru the front door first on New
Year's Day then the husband has more umph for the year, if a woman --
the wife.
"3. you clean your house before christmas and you don't have time to
clean it til after New Year's -- so no sweeping good luck out the
door.
"Besides eating black eyed peas on New Years you never do laundry that
day either or you will be crying the whole year through."
From rec.crafts.textiles.needlework newsgroup
http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=01bcb7b4%24a88cd750%240100007f%40ansley&oe=UTF-8&output=gplain
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-----== Pennsylvania Dutch New Year's Superstitions -----==
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"Some New Year's superstitions include:
"To keep yourself healthy in the New Year, eat smoked sausage. For
good luck in the New Year, eat boiled cabbage. But for the whole
package of good health, wealth and happiness in the New Year, you
should eat pork and sauerkraut.
"If a family serves chicken on New Year's Day, they will have
financial difficulties for the rest of the year.
"Changing your undershirt or underwear on New Year's Day can cause
boils.
BBC
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A730847
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Here's an entertaining look at some other New Year's superstitions:
Snopes
http://www.snopes.com/holidays/newyears/newyears.htm
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My search strategy in locating the links above involved various
combinations of the key phrases "new year" and "new year's" with the
keywords "traditions," "superstitions," "regional," and "american."
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Whew. Of course, there are umpteen other local celebrations and
traditions. Almost every town that has an old bell that is still
ringable will ring in the New Year with it. Many "Polar Bear Club"
events are held on New Year's Day, with intrepid folks leaping into
icy water while wearing few or no clothes. In my area (Northeastern
Oklahoma,) every year brings a gaggle of water-skiing celebrants who
dutifully water-ski on Lake Keystone, regardless of the temperature
(almost always below freezing) or the (brrrrrr) wind chill factor.
This is said to bring good luck to those who survive. Also an Oklahoma
tradition: going outside at the crack of dawn on New Year's Day and
firing your gun straight into the air, in blatant disregard of the
laws of physics. Almost every year there is a news story about someone
whose own bullet drops straight back down to earth (as objects tend to
do,) injuring the fellow who shot it.
I hope this information is helpful. If anything I've said is unclear
or incomplete, or if any of the links do not function, please request
clarification before rating my answer; I'll be glad to offer further
assistance.
Best wishes for the New Year
from
pinkfreud |
