Special traditions for New Year's Eve or Day?

[Winchester]

Do you have any kind of good-luck traditions on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day?

I had mentioned in another New Year post that DH and I just watch a few movies and I make appetizer-type foods for us to munch on for New Year's Eve.

Right before midnight, I take an old purse outside on the front door step.....the purse contains $1.00. Right after midnight of the new year, I'll go outside and bring the purse back in the house. That way, one of my first things for the New Year is to bring money into our house, which is supposed to ensure that you'll always have money coming into your home. My grandmother did that for decades and I've done it for a long, long time, too.

I've not seen the ball drop since I married DH. As the ball starts to drop and the crowd starts to chant, "Ten, nine, eight...." DH and I will kiss and continue kissing until we hear "Happy New Year!" We like to think it gives our marriage a little bit of good luck throughout the new year. (There might be something to that, too, b/c we'll be married 40 years in 2011.....so for the last 40 years, we've not seen that darn ball drop!)

Our New Year's Day is not complete without our dinner of pork and sauerkraut....I think it's an old German or PA Dutch tradition. My grandmother served it and I have, too. DH isn't a big sauerkraut fan, but he'll eat it then. It's supposed to bring good luck. This year on Saturday, three other couples are coming in for dinner and to play cards. And yes, we're having pork and sauerkraut.

What do you do for good luck for the new year? Anything special?

 

[darkmavis]

I don't really hjave any special traditions these days for NYE.. For over 20 years though my mom and I went out for a nice dinner at a fancy0ish restaurant every NYE. A year or 2 before I moved to CA, I was in NYC hanging out with friends and I still had to get my butt home in time for dinner with mom. Then after dinner, sometimes I'd go out someplace, sometimes stay home and have people over, and we, too, always got 'special snacks' to have. Usually frozen appetizer stuff that we never have at other times. At midnight we'd run outside and yell 'Happy New Year!' and bang spoons on pots and make a big racket.

Since I moved, 2 years BF and I went up to Santa Rosa which was fun, and last year we went out and about Long Beach/Seal Beach with some friends. I didn't really like it, the craziness of the crowds downtown. The bar we went to in Seal Beach around 11PM actually wasn't crowded, so that was pretty cool, and we knew most of the people there. LB buses were supposed to run late, until 2:30AM, but come 1AM we could not find any buses and ended up finally getting a taxi around 2:30. Not fun.

This year I would love to stay home, but I think BF wants to go out, so we might stay in until 10 or so, then head out to Seal Beach and hope it's not crazy crowded, and plan on getting a taxi home. Not even trying for a bus this time.

New Years Day with my mom was always pork and sauerkraut, then when i stopped the meat thing she'd do veggie hot dogs and sauerkraut for me.

Yum. Again, since I moved, no real traditions as of yet, just a kind of lazy recovery day.

 

[-_aj_-]

Nope we haven't done anything for a few years now

 

[my4llma]

New Year's Eve we always played games all night, and watched the party in N.Y.C. Usually always have Chinese food, or pizza.

 

[GoldyCat]

For the last 30+ years I've worked a night shift almost every New Year's Eve. The few times I wasn't working I stayed home and read a book.

This year I'll be in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve getting ready for a cat show on January 1 & 2. Haven't made specific plans but will probably meet up with some of the other people from the show.

 

[nurseangel]

My sil used to do a traditional Southern dinner with black eyed peas (yuck) and other dishes meant to bring health, wealth, etc. for the new year. But she doesn't do that any more because of her erratic work schedule. I have never been a fan of New Year's and don't celebrate, but I am going to try that purse thing.

 

[3catsn1dog]

New Years Eve will be spent sleeping haha. We dont bother with the whole staying up because by 8 we are both snuggled up in bed watching tv till we fall asleep.....about 15 minutes later lol.

New Years Day we will go to Grams house and have pork and saurkraut. I dont really like it but Ill eat it because then I dont have to cook lol. Plus Gram cooks the bestest ever ever ever, we wish they would all let her cook for the holidays because yummy but she doesnt cook organic and all that froofy type stuff.