New Year Traditions

At quilting the other evening we were talking about New Years traditions and what each of us does to mark the first day of the new year.

Two of us serve pork and cabbage on new years day, this meal is supposed to bring good luck for the new year. The pork can be served anyway, a roast, ribs, sausage, as can the cabbage, sauerkraut is a good cabbage option. This was not a tradition in my family, and it was not a tradition in Rose's family, we both learned of it from our inlaws. I have not decided what I will serve this year, it is narrowed down to two choices, stuffed pork loin with roast potatoes and cabbage augratin, or a pork roast cooked in sauerkraut with mashed potatoes.

Bonnie will serve black eyed peas cooked all day into a robust soup. Bonnie's husband is from North Carolina, and this tradition comes from his family, it is a popular new years day meal in the South. Eating black eyed peas on new years day only, brings promises of wealth for the new year! Maybe I should add black eyed pea soup to my pork/cabbage menu :) A popular black eyed pea recipe is call Hoppin' John, if you have left overs to serve the next day, they are called Skippin' Jenny! Beans have been thought to bring good luck since the Roman times - and they are very nutritious, high in fiber, and inexpensive, a winner all around.

The other ladies had no particular tradition for new years day.

Another new years tradition, not involving food, but I bet a steaming bowl of Bonnie's Black Eyed Pea Soup would be welcome after participating in this activity, is the Polar Bear Plunge. Crazy people plunge themselves into icy cold rivers, lakes, ponds, or any cold body of water at hand, for no particular reason other than it is new years day and it is cold outside??? I am not sure if this is to bring good luck to the plungers, or what, but everyone seems to have a good time.

What are your new years traditions?