New Years Traditions
The most popular New Year's tradition remains the New Year's resolution. The tradition of making New Year's resolutions traces back several millennia to the ancient Babylonians, or back to ancient Rome and the infamous King Janus. Considering that the earliest legend about resolutions goes back to roughly a century and a half before the birth of Christ, it’s difficult to nail down the authentic truth about the origins of New Year's resolutions. What is known about the Romans is that their resolutions usually revolved around seeking the forgiveness of an enemy or someone they had wronged in the previous year.
The tradition of a midnight kiss on New Year's Eve springs forth from English and Germanic folklore that states the kiss will be an indicator of upcoming luck in the next year.
In the southern U.S., part of the traditional New Year's Day meal includes black-eyed peas because consuming these legumes was thought to bring about good luck. The black-eyed peas resemble money and indicate possible wealth for the next year.
