Black eyed peas, Champagne and Doughnuts

December 29, 2008

Now that Christmas, Chanukuh, Kwanzaa and Festivus have come and gone, you’ve got a little more than 48 hours to start gearing up for the global holidays known as New Year’s Eve, followed by New Year’s Day. Let’s explore some of the traditions associated with the bacchanalian evening whose roots go back some 4,000 years to ancient Babylon and was formalized with the Roman calendar in 153 BC.

Black eyed peas and other lucky legumes

Particularly in the southeast corner of America, where I currently reside, Southerners proudly serve up black eyed peas traditionally on New Year’s Day. These legumes are typically accompanied by either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. The hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity.

You gotta have some Cabbage

Cabbage is another “good luck” vegetable that is consumed on New Year’s Day by many. Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency. In some regions, rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year’s Day.

The Dutch Prefer Doughnuts

Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolizes “coming full circle,” completing a year’s cycle. For that reason, the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year’s Day will bring good fortune. To quote Danny DeVitoDanny DeVito in Other People’s Money, “how do you say ‘no’ to a doughnut?”

Champagne is not just for the frogs

The tradition of drinking Champagne on New Year’s Eve and Day probably started in France, as only true champagne comes from France. Anything made outside of the region of Champagne is considered “sparkling wine.” The Russians are very proud of their own sparkling wine which was born 72 years ago, when Josef Stalin signed a decree ordering production of ‘Soviet Champagne’ – or, more accurately, sparkling wine called ‘Sovetskoye Shampanskoye’. The first wineries appeared in the southern city of Rostov and later in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod), in central Russia.

So no matter what you choose to imbibe, eat or consume, remember that New Year’s Eve and Day is a time to reflect on the events of the past year and plan and predict the outcomes for the coming year. If you plan on getting real “fizzy” that night or day, please don’t drink and drive as know one wants you to become another statistic.