LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — What happens on New Year's Eve in other parts of the world? You might be surprised, as I was, at the unique and unusual ways that 2022 will be ushered in around the globe.
Scotland rings in the new year with a variety of fervent celebrations, including street dances, bonfires, and parading with fireballs swinging from sticks.
New Year’s Eve there is called Hogmanay and brings with it the custom of “first footing.” In this tradition, the first person to cross the threshold of one’s home in the new year brings either good or bad luck.
A dark-haired male is considered good luck, while light- or red-haired men are said to bring bad, perhaps because of the history of invasion by Vikings with such coloring. The first footer is supposed to bear traditional gifts of coal, salt, shortbread and whiskey.
Emphasis on New Year’s Eve celebrations in Scotland may stem from the banning of Christmas festivities in Britain during the 17th and 18th centuries.
In Spain, 12 grapes are eaten at midnight to bring luck and prosperity for each month of the new year. They must be eaten before the 12 chimes of the clock are complete, however, or their luck is forfeited.
The Swiss drop dollops of whipped cream or ice cream on the floor to symbolize the richness of the year to come.
Romanians don bear costumes or furs and dance to the pan flute to drive away evil spirits that may invade the new year.
In the Netherlands, balls of deep-fried dough called oliebollen are eaten. This stems from an ancient tradition related to the Germanic goddess Perchta, scarily known as the Belly Slitter. The story goes that her goal was to punish those who failed to celebrate the yuletide well by cutting open their stomachs and filling them with trash. The fat from oliebollen was believed to be protective, causing Perchta’s sword to slide off harmlessly.
The color white is considered good luck in Brazil and is worn on New Year’s Eve to ward off evil spirits and invite prosperity. White flowers and candles are thrown into the water as offerings to the sea goddess Yemoja with hopes for her blessings in the year to come.
Brazilians may also gather at the beach to jump over seven waves, a lucky number there. Lentils, which represent money and good fortune, are eaten on New Year’s Eve.
Wearing red underwear is traditional in Italy on New Year's Eve, particularly if one desires children, as red is symbolic of fertility there.
In Colombia, a walk around the block with an empty suitcase is done at midnight in hopes of bringing a year of travel and adventure.
Columbians also practice a form of fortune telling by placing three potatoes under their pillows, one unpeeled, one half peeled, and one fully peeled. At midnight they pull out the first one they touch, hoping for the unpeeled one, which represents abundance. The peeled potato portends financial problems and the half peeled one means that fortunes in the new year will be somewhere in the middle.
In the Philippines, round shapes signify wealth and prosperity, so people wear clothes with shapes such as polka dots. They also eat spherical fruits and fill their pockets with coins to attract wealth.
Strings of onions are hung on the outside of doors on New Year’s Eve in Greece as a symbol of rebirth. Onions have been long associated with growth and development in Greek culture.
Another food, the pomegranate, represented fertility, life, and abundance in ancient Greece, and the fruit continues to be associated with good fortune there in modern times. Just after midnight on New Year’s Eve, pomegranates are smashed against one’s front door. It is said that the number of pomegranate seeds scattered correlate to the amount of good luck one will have in the new year.
In Chile, New Year’s Eve masses are celebrated in cemeteries so deceased family members can join in the festivities.
Soba noodles are slurped on New Year’s Eve in Japan as their length represents a long and healthy life. Because the buckwheat plant used to make these noodles is so resilient, it’s thought that eating the noodles can also bring strength.
Buddhist temples in Japan ring their bells 108 times in honor of the new year — 107 times on New Year’s Eve and once again when the clock strikes midnight. This is meant to dispel the 108 evil human desires and cleanse the previous year of past sins. The practice is known as joyanokane.
Plates are smashed on the front stoops of friends and neighbors in Denmark to bring them good luck. It’s a point of pride to have a large amount of broken crockery in front of one’s home on New Year’s Day. Some say it’s a means of leaving aggression and ill will behind before the new year begins. Danes also jump off chairs to “leap” into the new year.
In Ecuador, straw effigies are made of famous figures — politicians, pop stars, and the like — and are carried through the streets. They’re then burned on bonfires to represent cleansing the world of evil and making room for good in the new year.
Bleigiessen, or lead pouring, is a fortune telling tradition at the center of German and Finnish New Year’s Eve festivities. A small bit of lead or tin is melted using flames from a candle and then dropped into cold water. The shape that forms is thought to predict events in the coming year. For example, a ring or heart represents a wedding, a pig abundance and a ship travel.
In Russia, wishes for the new year are written out and then burned with a candle. The ashes are put into one’s champagne glass to drink.
Puerto Ricans throw water out of windows to ward off evil spirits and sprinkle sugar outside for good luck.
In the Czech Republic, fortunes are predicted for those gathered at New Year’s Eve celebrations by cutting apples in half. If the core looks like a star, everyone there will soon meet again in happiness and health, but if it looks like a cross, someone will fall ill in the upcoming year.
Many meals are eaten on New Year’s Eve in Estonia, either seven, nine or 12 of them, as those numbers are considered lucky. It’s believed that this will bring good things in the year to come. It’s customary to leave some food on the plate at each meal for family members visiting in spirit form to enjoy.
Armenians knead wishes for good luck into every loaf of bread that’s made on the last day of the year.
In Turkey it’s considered good luck to spill salt on your doorstep when the clock strikes midnight to promote peace and prosperity through the new year.
In Ireland, single women sleep with mistletoe under their pillows on New Year’s Eve in hopes of finding true love – or perhaps a husband – in the coming year.
In the southeastern United States, Hoppin’ John, a favorite dish made with black-eyed peas and greens (usually collards), is eaten on New Year’s Day to bring luck and prosperity, and that’s the recipe I offer today. The greens, because of their color, symbolize money, and black-eyed peas have long represented good luck.
Below is a vegetarian version of the dish, but feel free to add a ham hock to the mix or fry some bacon in the pot first if a meaty version is desired. Either way, be sure to serve it with plenty of cornbread.
If you don’t have time to soak the beans overnight, put them in a pot with water to cover, bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and let the beans sit for an hour. Drain the water and cook as directed below. You can also substitute frozen or canned black-eyed peas. Just add them to the pot once the vegetables have had a chance to cook a bit.
Enjoy! And best wishes for a happy, healthy, prosperous 2022.
Hoppin’ John
2 cups dried black-eyed peas
6 cups water
1 medium white or yellow onion, chopped
Several sprigs fresh thyme (tied with kitchen string for use as a bouquet garni or the chopped leaves of the sprigs)
2 bay leaves
1 medium green or red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 large bunch kale, stems removed and chopped
1 cup long-grain rice
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
Leaves from 3 or 4 sprigs thyme leaves (1 tablespoon; may substitute 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
Tabasco sauce (optional)
Rinse black-eyed peas and soak in water to cover for six hours or overnight. Drain peas and transfer to a large soup pot.
Add water, onions, kale, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves. Simmer until beans are tender but still whole, about 45 minutes.
Add rice, green or red pepper, paprika, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer until rice is tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
If desired, season with Tabasco sauce. Remove thyme (if in bouquet garni) and bay leaves before serving. Ladle into bowls and enjoy with cornbread.
Makes four servings.
Recipe by Esther Oertel.
Esther Oertel is a writer and passionate home cook from a family of chefs. She grew up in a restaurant, where she began creating recipes from a young age. She’s taught culinary classes in a variety of venues in Lake County and previously wrote “The Veggie Girl” column for Lake County News. Most recently she’s taught culinary classes at Sur La Table in Santa Rosa. She lives in Middletown, California.
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