What did you do New Year's Eve?

“What did you do New Year’s Eve?” That’s the big question this time of year, There are big parties, home get-togethers all kinds of customs for the New Year. Here in the USA we will watch the ball drop in Times Square, throw confetti, blow noise makers, have some champagne and kiss everyone we see. Then on New Year’s Day, it is sleep in, watch the Rose Parade then football and more football. Maybe we start a diet to get rid of those holiday pounds. It was a custom in our family to have black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day – for good luck and prosperity. Not good for starting your diet though especially when cooked with lots of ham and served with corn bread slathered in butter!

We make a list of “resolutions” – stop smoking, get more exercise, do something on your “bucket list”, go on a diet. Ever notice all the diet program and gym commercials on TV in January they know they are going to get some $$$$ from us. There are different New Year’s customs depending on where you are in the world. Here are some that I found interesting: 

In Japan the New Year is called “Oshogatsu” it is an important time for family celebrations. The Japanese celebrate the New Year on January 1st, but they also keep their Shinto beliefs. To keep out evil spirits they hang a straw rope in front of their house. The rope stands for good luck and happiness. They decorate with evergreens which symbolize eternal life the celebration goes on for 2 weeks. WOW can you imagine a two week long New Year’s party? You’d need a liver transplant!

The Irish New Year comes from the Celtic celebration of Samhain which is celebrated on October 31 and has survived into today’s culture as Halloween. In the Celtic culture New Year’s Day was a day of great danger because the evil spirits were returned to earth so you had to take measures to protect yourself. Mistletoe was used to ward off the bad spirits. Let’s see….. Mistletoe, kissing, partying – sounds like “great danger” to me!

In South America, Ano Viejo, the New Year festival is celebrated by creating a fake person or dummy and hanging it outside the home. The scarecrow person is completely dressed and stuffed with old newspapers and firecrackers. The dummy person represents all the bad things that happened in the past year. At midnight the dummy is lighted on fire. The dummy and all the bad things go up in smoke with a bang. The old year is forgotten and the new one begins. Now there is a custom I like, what’s done is done – move on.

My favorite might be Australia, not because it has some interesting custom, but because it is SUMMER in Australia. Australians celebrate on January 1st. It is celebrated much as we do with fireworks and parties. But since it is summer they celebrate with picnics, camp-outs, beach parties and surf carnivals. After the cold, snow and ice we have had this year and we are only a few days into winter, I could use a good beach party! It seems that no matter where or how you celebrate it is all about sending out the old and bringing in the new, warding off the bad and bringing in good luck and good spirits.

So… let’s go the beach, bring our IPad so we don’t miss any football and eat some diet food or blackeyed peas while standing under the mistletoe. Then at midnight have some champagne, light our dummy on fire, say good-bye to 2013 and welcome in 2014.

Dodge Moving & Storage in St. Louis, Missouri and O’Fallon, Illinois wishes all of you good health, happiness and prosperity in the New Year.