Traditions

After a year like 2020, do we fall back and rely on our old traditions or superstitions at New Years’. Or do we forge ahead and make new ones? Are we going to welcome In 2021 by banging on pots and pans at midnight, when the same event was repeated at 7 pm nightly, to thank healthcare and front line workers every day for months? By the way, why have we stopped doing this?  For one, I enjoyed making noise to thank the people who put their lives at risk to help us every day.

I often wonder if these superstitions do us any good or if they do us harm. Lately, I have thought that if you start the year the same way – then you can’t hope for real change. So with that in mind,  there are traditions and superstitions that I will be repeating this year, and a few that I will be letting go, and a few that I will be adding.

Leading up to New Years’ Eve

The week between Christmas and New Years’, I focus on self-care. This week is usually a quiet time for me.  And since we are all in some form of isolation right now, it’s a good practice to take stock of what we have and what we need to do before life gets busy again. The home will be central to this theme, as the majority of us will be spending the holiday indoors with just our families or closest persons around us.

• Celebrate how far I have come during the year.  I spend time with my victories.  I reflect on what has gotten me to this place.  And write letters to the people who have helped me get here.
• Revisit my failures and weigh the options. Are they things that I need to change and keep working on, or do I let them go and move on to something else? Usually, the answer is to keep trying.
• Start working on resolutions. I come up with a game plan and break out the steps that I need to take. Or perhaps, I will look at doing some alternatives to resolutions.
• Spend time alone. The holiday season wears me out. I usually need a recharge.
• Clean. Declutter (including electronics). Reorganize. Redecorate. Buy plants.
• Prepare your home for the hygge season – candles, tea, blankets, all the things that make you happy and comfortable.

The Big Night

There are a few traditions that I will be keeping this year that happen on New Years’ Eve (and in the early morning of the New Year).

• Follow the Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes at midnight—one grape for every chime. This means at the end of the 12th chime; you will have eaten 12 grapes. This ritual brings good luck for the 12 months of the year – if you can succeed in eating that many. I have never been able to complete this task.  But this year, I have a plan. I am going to eat the smallest grapes that I can find.
• 2 am breakfast. I don’t know why we do this. I suppose it’s because we are always awake long after midnight. So we may as well do something. Normally, there would be a crowd of people here.  Not this year, but I am not giving up on this tradition.  It’s worth it for the mimosas.
• Open all the doors and windows. This lets the old year out and ushers in a brand new year. Something we need stat.
• Create a wishes and worries jar. This is a jar that I decorate, and it contains all of my worries and wishes throughout the year that I have written on pieces of paper. I put them in a jar, so I don’t have to focus on them.  Once I write them down and put them in the jar – they are looked after by a higher power/spirit guide/god of choice.
• After I eat the grapes at midnight, I wish Happy New Year to the one person I want to have more in my life.

On the day

On Jan 1st, I try to enjoy the day.  All of the work has already been done. My house is clean, and the dishes are done. A sense of calm has been instilled. All I have to do is start the year off with healthy habits. I go outside, exercise, read, and fill my day with activities that I love.  At some point, I will meditate and set an intention for the entire year.

What I won’t be doing this year

Usually, we host a New Years’ Eve party. Sometimes it’s on the small side. Sometimes it is larger. This year, I won’t be hosting any party. And I am kind of excited to ring in a new year all by myself. No matter what kind of party we hosted, we would always show the movie The Women (from 1939). In case you are unfamiliar, this movie does not have any men in it. It’s basically just women being awful to each other – under the guise of being supportive. I have watched – or had this movie in the background, for every new year since I was 17. I will not start a new year (and decade) off with that kind of drama.

To usher in this new year, only magical elements and moments are welcome.

What are your plans for New Years’ this year? Will you be starting any new traditions?

Wishing you all a happy and healthy 2021.