Through the years, New Year's Eve rituals and superstitions have been passed on. Here's five more common traditions:
1. The Kiss:
Origins of this well-known tradition are not as popular as the act itself. At the stroke of midnight, kissing a loved one is said to ensure continued affections between the pair into the New Year. Not kissing anyone at midnight is believed to bring one loneliness in the New Year. (If you're in a relationship, be sure to kiss your significant other no matter how much bubbly has been consumed. I'm not sure what that mistake would bring you in the New Year, but I can't imagine it's good.)
2. Banging Pots and Pans:
It's fun, but this ritual was once used as a protective measure. The belief was that loud noise making would scare away evil spirits. Sometimes people use less safe ways to create noise at the stroke of midnight — like fireworks and shooting guns. Discharging fireworks and guns for this purpose is illegal. Remember, that bullet has to come down somewhere at somepoint.
3. New Clothes:
Wear "this old thing" on New Year's Eve. It's said that those who wear new clothing into Jan. 1 won't get any new clothes in the New Year. (Plus, if those old clothes from last year fit, wear it and flaunt it!)
4. Food:
It was once thought that by eating black eyed peas on New Year's Day, the consumer would secure a year full of monetary gains and good luck. Many also make pork and sauerkraut to bring luck in the New Year. (Even if you don't like sauerkraut, have one strand ... it's tradition and good luck, says every Polish mother everywhere.)
5. Singled Out:
On New Year's Day, superstition maintains that a single woman should gaze out the window of her bedroom the moment she awakes. If she sees a man — any man — outside, it is said she'll be married before the year is over. (Anyone interested in standing outside my home Jan. 1, 2013? Who says you can't make your own luck)
What are your New Year's traditions? Tell us in the comments!
Click here for a list of New Year's Eve traditions celebrated around the world. Do you know what first-footing is?
