"The Old Year has gone. Let the dead past bury its own dead. The New Year has taken possession of the clock of time. All hail the duties and possibilities of the coming twelve months!"
~ Edward Payson Powell
First things first! My brother was supposed to propose to his lady over Christmas, while they were out of state visiting her family, but they both got really sick. (She knew he was going to propose and she'd already picked out her ring). He wasn't about to propose when they were both so ill, so it had to be put on hold.
After carrying that ring in his pocket for an entire week, he finally proposed to her last night.
Do you have any New Years Day traditions at your house? When my Grandma (on my Dad's side) was still alive and living in Houston, the whole family would have a get-together at her house. The rose parade would be on tv and we'd have a great big barbecue. It was all very laid back and there was so much BBQ that I don't really think my grandfather ever left the BBQ pit. Half of the family would be outside in the sun while the other half stayed inside to chat and visit.
Those New Years Day barbecues have been a memory of the past for a long time now. The only tradition remaining, at least for this household, began on my mother's side.
It's a superstition, really.
This tradition/superstition being eating at least a spoonful of black-eyes peas on New Years Day. This year my mother even had the dogs and cat eat at least one.
I've never really thought much about it before, but after a little research I discovered just how common it is in the south. Here's what I found (and I'm taking out the parts that don't apply in our household. The article would be too long):
"The practice of eating black-eyed peas for luck is generally believed to date back to the Civil War. At first planted as food for livestock, and later a food staple for slaves in the South, the fields of black-eyed peas were ignored as Sherman's troops destroyed or stole other crops, thereby giving the humble, but nourishing, black-eyed pea an important role as a major food source for surviving Confederates.
Today, the tradition of eating black-eyed peas for the New Year has evolved into a number of variations and embellishments of the luck and prosperity theme including:
- Cornbread, often served with black-eyed peas and greens, represents gold.
- Adding a shiny penny or dime to the pot just before serving is another tradition practiced by some. When served, the person whose bowl contains the penny or dime receives the best luck for the New Year, unless of course, the recipient swallows the coin, which would be a rather unlucky way to start off the year."
That last bit... I believe my grandparents used to do this at their New Years Day BBQ. I had forgotten all about that!
This is what our New Years Eve looked like:
If last night were Christmas Eve, all the little children in our neighborhood would be having a lot of trouble sleeping, wondering if Rudolph would ever see through that fog.
But actually, while it was very warm last night and the humidity was at 100% the rest of that fog was due to rain and most especially the fireworks people were popping. (Around here, the fireworks have been going on every single night since a few days before Christmas).
By midnight the rain chased away most of the firecracker happy people, so I didn't get to film much. I was also afraid of the rain ruining our new camera.
The videos below are pretty uneventful, other than the noise. The rain this year pretty much canceled out any pretty fireworks shows.
Happy New Year Kristin... interesting about the "superstition"... we have some traditional superstitions too, we just don't practice them, but it's fun to remember! Lots of lovely pics! Cheers!
ReplyDelete