The Old Gray Mare

Just a Few New Year Traditions


Posted: Thursday, December 31, 2009

by
www.DressYourHorse.com

Do you have a favorite New Year's food or, more importantly, does your family celebrate a special tradition?

My parents fervently followed well-established traditions. Thinking about it now, I actually consider those traditions more like superstitious practices. Mostly, they concern food with a few routine behaviors thrown in.

Everyone in the family welcomed in the New Year. It didn't really matter what age anyone was we all celebrated out the old and welcomed in the new year as a family unit. If one or several members were absent from the family fold, soon after midnight and after hugs, embraces and happy New Year wishes the phone would ring. This happened like clockwork. As we moved away from the parental home, each of us took our turns calling if we could not be home.

On January 1 no female person was permitted to be the first individual to enter the house. It always had to be a male. He had to throw a pinch of salt over his shoulder and then the coast was clear. My parents never explained this one to me but it had been a practice long before I was born.

For breakfast we ate donuts this had something to do with the old year coming full circle and the start of a new one.

Lunch on New Year's Day was always the festive meal. Main course could consist of any type of meat course but it had to be accompanied by cabbage. This was my father's one annual concession since he absolutely hated cabbage. According to our family tradition, eating the large cabbage leaves ensured that the year to follow would be prosperous. My father suffered through his torturous cabbage serving and, after dinner, would proudly announce that "we're in the money now and our pockets will never be empty" Truth is, my father was an excellent provider and his New Year's Day sacrifice was amply rewarded. "Be thankful for what we have," he'd say.

In the evening the family enjoyed a light supper that had to include black-eyed peas. My mother believed these delicious peas brought luck and lots of it.

As we usher in yet another new year, and close out the old one, memories of holidays past come flooding back. It's these recollections that rekindle wonderful thoughts and heartfelt emotions.

I have always considered family tradition important. While I don't consider some of these practices "musts", I honor them fondly for the memories they impart.

This article and other articles by The Old Gray Mare are on DressYourHorse.com and FantasyKritters.com.

Heidi Rucki brings expertise as a horsewoman, dog lover and stained glass/mosaic artist. She is an accomplished freelance writer in the horse industry. Writing online as The Old Gray Mare, many of her current articles can be found on www.DressYourHorse.com. In the past, Rucki wrote for numerous horse organizations including The Connecticut Horse Council. She took early retirement from Phoenix Home Life where she wrote mutual fund prospectuses and was responsible for their submissions to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Old Gray Mare writes to share knowledge and her love of horses for everyone but especially for novice and new horse owners. Besides her two main websites, she has recently published three new blog sites. Of those, her favorite is www.BeautyOfHorses.com.
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