The start of a new year brings with it the promise of wonderful things to come.
The secret to making the most of new opportunities is not to be weighed down with the detritus of the past.
Many cultures formalize the concept by – literally – sweeping the old year out the door at the stroke of midnight. In Latin America, people pitch a bucket of water out the window to symbolize cleansing. In Japan, a more sedate version of this involves cleaning the house.
Other customs vary from whimsical to out-and-out bizarre.
In Brazil, people start the year by jumping over seven waves, one wish for each wave.
In Spain, there is a custom involving popping a grape in your mouth for every chime of the clock at midnight – if you manage to eat all 12 without choking, each month of the new year will be lucky for you.
The Danes also risk injury with their New Year’s tradition of leaping off a chair at midnight. They also throw chipped glasses and dishes at the doors of loved ones – the more broken crockery you find at your door on New Year’s Day, the better.
In Turkey, people do something similar with pomegranates, which symbolize abundance. The more pieces there are, the more prosperous they will be.
Have someone you dislike? Follow the custom of Ecuador, where people make sawdust-filled images and then burn them at midnight.
Romanians toss a coin in the river on New Year’s Eve to bring good fortune.
Round symbolizes money, and in the Philippines, people go after as many round things as possible to bring prosperity in the new year – wearing dots, carrying coins, eating bagels, cookies and doughnuts, consuming 12 round fruits… the list goes round and round.
In Greece, people like to hang onions outside on their door at New Year’s to bring good luck and fertility. The reason is, onions sprout even if people forget about them. Parents wake up their children on New Year’s Day by gently hitting them on the head with the onions that were hanging outside.
People in Colombia who yearn to travel carry empty suitcases around the block on New Year’s Eve, to bring a year filled with travelling.
Russians give gifts at New Year’s, a holdover from when Christmas was forbidden by the Soviets.
Fireworks start the new year off with a bang in many countries. Thank the seventh century Chinese, who set off fireworks to scare off evil spirits.
The Scots hedge their bets with a custom to ward off evil and bring prosperity – the first person allowed in the home at New Year’s – the first-footer – has to be a tall, dark man bearing gifts of coal, salt, shortbread and whisky. The custom likely has to do with basic necessities, carried in by someone who was clearly not a fair-haired Viking.
Not to be outdone with all the varied and fascinating New Year’s customs, Canadians have come up with their own – the Polar Bear Dip. While the Americans gather in front of their television sets and watch a giant ball drop in New York’s Times Square, we hardy souls from north of the 49th chop a hole in the ice and plunge in, often as a charity fundraiser.
Those of us who are less inclined to start off the new year with a visit to the hospital for treatment of hypothermia might prefer to take our cue from the ancient Babylonians and repeat a 4,000-year-old tradition.
Make a New Year’s resolution – the Babylonians tended to focus on paying debts and returning borrowed objects, but we have lots of options.
If the ever-popular resolution of improved fitness seems doomed to failure, you will be in good company – most resolutions fail by mid-March. You can throw caution to the winds and leap off a chair or two while eating grapes and smashing dishes, or simply vow to do what you can to make this the best year yet for yourself and those you love.
Happy New Year!
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Pauline Kerr is a journalist with Midwestern Newspapers. For question or comment, she can be reached at pkerr@midwesternnewspapers.com.
