New Year's Day Festivities

How did you spend New Year's Eve?

How are you spending New Year's Day?

Well we celebrated the turn of the new year in Greenland! Not physically, but in our imagination. We knew we wouldn't make it until midnight, so we decided to celebrate the new year at 9:00 with GREENLAND. So we looked up info and photo's of Greenland on the computer and used our imagination. We toasted the new year with R.W. Knudsen. We had the organic Pear and the kosher Grape. They were both quite good, chilled in chilled glasses.

After toasting the new year and viewing beautiful photo's of Greenland, Andrew and I went to bed and Lauren went to a friends house, and Megan stayed up to greet the actual new year at midnight. Noah didn't make it until 9:00 he fell asleep at about 8:00 or a little after.

Today we got up early, of course Noah is an early riser everyday. But by 6:00 we were up and going. I cooked bacon and bisquits and we ate breakfast then I started the greens and black-eyed peas. Are you eating greens and black-eyed peas today? I don't know if everyone does that on New Year's Day, but it has always been a tradition for us and I suppose most southern people. I know I saw a lot of people buying black-eyed peas at the store yesterday.

I found this interesting information at http://www.paulfite.com/2007/12/new-years-food-traditions.html

New Years Day Food Traditions

1. Eating noodles at midnight is customary at Buddhist temples in Japan.
   
2. A German/Pennsylvania Dutch tradition is to eat pork and sauerkraut
3. on New Year's day for good luck.
   
4. It is the tradition of Bosnia & Croatia (both of former Yugoslavia) to eat what is called "Sarma" or beef wrapped tightly in cabbage to bring good luck in health and wealth for the upcoming year.
   
5. It is a Cuban tradition to eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight.
6. The 12 grapes signify the last twelve months of the year.
   
7. German folklore says that eating herring at the stroke of midnight will bring luck for the next year. Herring Salad recipe.
   Eating pickled herring as the first bite of the New Year brings good luck to those of Polish descent.
   
8. 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.
   
9. The Southern custom of eating greens can be found in other cultures as well, although the cabbage can take many forms, such as sauerkraut or even Kimchi.
   
10. In the Philippines, it is important to have food on the table at midnight in order to insure an abundance of food in the upcoming year.
    
11. Boiled Cod is a New Year's Eve must in Denmark.
    OlieBollen a donut-like fritter is popular in Holland for New Year.
    Black-eyed peas, fish, apples, and beets are eaten for luck at the Jewish New Year's celebration (not celebrated on Jan 1).
    
12. Another tradition from the Philippines is to collect 7 different types of round fruits. The round shape of the fruits signify money and seven is believed to be a lucky number. Set on the dinner table on New Year's eve, the fruits are believed to bring prosperity and sound financial status for the coming year.

Well I have number 8 covered. We are having collards, mustards, black-eyed peas, and cornbread. Yum! Yum! So we should be lucky and wealthy this year!

Wisdom for the New Year

We will open the book.

Its pages are blank.

We are going to put words on them ourselves.

The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.~ Edith Lovejoy Pierce