Here comes the New Year. But this year is different. 2023. We’ve been through three years of an unprecedented pandemic, inflation, talk of recession, the Crypto crash, the war in Ukraine, global warming, it’s as if the world is coming to an end.
You know as well as I do that this New Year’s eve we’re going to party like it’s 1999. And then, on January 1st, we’re going to start new, as if everything that happened the day before, the year before—the last three years—never happened.
We’re going to start anew. We’ll make a bunch of crazy resolutions we know we’re not going to keep. Some of us will even quit drinking for a month. And the gym will get a spike in memberships with a crowd that will thin out by Valentine’s Day.
Somehow, we know in our guts that 2023 will be different. It’s going to be better. And hopefully, it will—knock on wood. Or better yet. Let’s do like the Spanish and bring in 2023 by eating twelve grapes as the clock strikes midnight on the 31st. Each grape for good luck for each month of 2023.
But just in case, let’s get some good luck back up. We don’t want the last three years to repeat themselves. We need to get rid of all the evil spirits and bring in all the luck in the world to make 2023 the best year ever.
We can start by doing what they do in Brazil. Wear all white for good luck and peace. And for added insurance, if you live near the ocean, place a few flowers, fruit, and candles out on the beach for Yemaya (Yemanja), the mother of all Orishas.
If none of these good luck New Year’s traditions float your boat, or you want all the luck and good fortune you can get, do like the Greeks. Smash a pomegranate against your front door and count the seeds. Then you’ll know how much luck you’ll get in the year.
Looking to get pregnant this year? Do like the Italians and wear red underwear. Maybe it’s because red is the color of love, or red underwear is sexy, but they say the tradition of red underwear suggests fertility. Want a baby? You know what to do.
For those of you who love to travel, you can follow the Colombian ritual of carrying an empty suitcase around the block which promises your year will be filled with travel.
Unfortunately, you can’t enjoy traveling without good health, so leave the suitcase and instead, try curing your hangover with a bowl of Japanese Soba noodles. In Japan, long thin noodles symbolize a long and healthy life.
If you’re superstitious consider doing what they do in Denmark. Stand on a chair and leap into the New Year as the clock strikes midnight. They say this simple ritual gets rid of bad spirits.
But if you really believe in spirits and think jumping off a chair is too weak to get rid of the evil ones, then do like they do in Puerto Rico and dump a bucket of water out the window.
Not good enough? Add a little Irish New Year’s tradition to ward off evil spirits by banging a loaf of Christmas bread against the wall of your home.
If good health, fortune and prosperity, travel, and warding off evil spirits are not something you desire, but still have a specific wish, say winning the lottery or drinking Mojitos on the beach with William Shatner, do like the Russians and write your wish in a piece of paper, burn it with a candle, then put the ashes in your glass of champagne and enjoy!
Whatever tradition you follow, superstitious or not, whatever New Year’s resolution you make, remember, it’s 2023. Things are going to get better. They have to, right?
So even if you do like I do and fall asleep by nine-thirty on the 31st and wake up in the new year to make a cup of coffee the same way you’ve been doing for years—same rituals, same life, different day—it’s still a new year. A great future awaits us all!
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