New Year's traditions around the world

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Looking at New Year traditions around the world


Ellen Lund/December 27, 2011

Are you ready to ring in a New Year? I know that there are many folks who are ready to leave 2011 behind and embrace the fresh start a new year represents.

Our traditions to welcome the New Year are usually very simple. We attend our church's early evening service and then go home, pour a glass of wine or two and reminiscence about the year behind us, our family's recent Christmas celebration and talk about our hopes and plans for the upcoming year.

I know that's pretty calm and very unexciting, but our anniversary is on the fourth day of Christmas and by the sixth day of Christmas we are ready for peace and quiet.

I was curious about traditions connected to the celebration of the New Year in our country and around the world so I looked at some of the origins of those customs.

For example, the song Auld Lang Syne is the song most associated with New Year's Eve. It was written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns and published in the Scots Musical Museum in 1796. Auld Lang Syne means time gone by and asks us to always remember those who have been important in our lives. Canadian band leader Guy Lombardo is credited with making this song a New Year's Eve standard. According to the website www.infoplease.com, Mr. Lombardo first heard the song sung by Scottish immigrants in his home town and when he and his brothers' band, the Royal Canadians, performed the song at a New Year's Eve party at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City in 1929, the tradition was born and is still part of New Year's Eve for many of us.

I love the Japanese tradition of cleaning houses thoroughly and holding Bonenkai or "forget the year" parties where people are expected to put misunderstandings behind them and let go of any grudges between acquaintances. That's a wonderful tradition that would certainly bring peace to the New Year.

The Dutch have a similar theme in one of their traditions. They build large bonfires on the streets with Christmas trees. They symbolize the elimination of the problems of the old year and are seen as a way to welcome the New Year and all its possibilities.

In our country, we celebrate with the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square and parades on New Year's Day. The Rose Bowl parade was first held in 1886 and precedes the Rose Bowl football game, another New Year's tradition.

A culinary tradition that I plan on implementing this year is from the southern part of our country. I want to make the traditional dish, Hoppin' John. This dish consists of black-eyed peas and rice. Eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is considered good luck. I always thought this custom was introduced due to the African influence on southern cuisine. However, after doing a bit of research on Wikipedia, I learned that the dish was brought to our country by Sephardic Jews who migrated to the state of Georgia in the early 1730s. The Jewish people sometimes include black-eyed peas in the Rosh Hashanah feast. In their culture, rice and black-eyed peas stand for abundance.

I found the following recipe in my favorite Jewish cookbook 1000 Jewish Recipes by Faye Levy. She included this recipe in the Rosh Hashanah section of this volume.

Black-Eyed Peas with Browned Onions and Tomatoes

1 pound dried black-eyed peas

10 cups water

1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced or

1 can (14-ounce) diced tomatoes, drained

2 large cloves garlic, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3 or 4 tablespoons olive oil

2 large onions, chopped

1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Pick over dried peas, discarding pebbles and broken or discolored peas. Put them in a large saucepan and add the water. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over low heat about one hour or just until tender. Drain peas, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid. Put peas in a saucepan. Add tomatoes, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper to peas. Mix tomato paste with 1/3 cup reserved cooking liquid and add to pot. Bring to a simmer. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes to blend flavors. Heat oil in a heavy skillet. Add onions and sauté over medium heat, stirring often, about 10 minutes or until deeply browned. Add onion mixture to pot of peas. Cover and heat gently three minutes. Stir in 3 tablespoons parsley. Adjust seasoning. Serve hot, sprinkled with remaining parsley.

For another version of black-eyed peas, I checked with my favorite southern cooking expert, Paula Deen. The following recipe is her version of black-eyed peas and rice called Hoppin' John.

Hoppin' John

Fresh parsley

Paula Deen's House Seasoning (recipe follows)

Garlic powder to taste

2 cups cooked rice

1 small onion, chopped

1 small red bell pepper, chopped

2 cups cooked black-eyed peas

2 tablespoons butter

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, bell pepper, and garlic powder to taste and cook for 5 minutes. Add peas and rice and cook an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Be careful not to overcook; this dish is best if the bell pepper and onion still have a crunch to them. Add House Seasoning to taste. Garnish each serving with a sprig of parsley. Recipe Note: You can use canned or frozen black eyed peas to make this recipe a time saver as well.

House Seasoning

1 cup salt

1/4 cup black pepper

1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.






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New Year's traditions around the world


How do you ring in the new year? Well there are plenty of different traditions around the world that you might have never heard of before!

Dec 29, 2011
Whitney Kent


fiKNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT)-- How do you ring in the new year? Well there are plenty of different traditions around the world that you might have never heard of before!

In Spain, people set out 12 grapes and eat one at each stroke of the clock. While in Scotland, townsmen parade in the streets with giant fireballs on poles.

If you're in Central America, it's popular to wear red underwear if you're looking for love in the coming year or yellow underwear if you're hoping for money.

But traditions here in the United States might sound a little more familiar.

People cook black eyed peas for good luck and collared greens for money in the new year.

While others will stick to a New York City tradition of watching the New Year's Eve ball drop in Times Square.

There's also the tradition of a midnight kiss, toast to the new year and singing "Auld Lang Syne".

No matter what you do to welcome in the new year; 2012 is right around the corner so let's hope for a bright and happy new year for everyone!