Shall we begin with a song?
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Welp, it’s that time of the year. This is the time of the year when Superstition reigns Supreme. As the year turns (Of course this is the Western Gregorian Calendar), cultures all over the world fall back into ancient superstition and ritual to ensure prosperity and luck during the new year. Let’s take a look at some superstitions from around the world. First, let’s look at food.
GERMANY: Eat the round things. One of Germany’s traditions is to eat round foods—specially made cakes, bagels, donuts, as long as it’s a circle. Representing a full year of luck
SPAIN: Eat twelve grapes at midnight, one for each month, making a wish for each.
POLAND AND SCANDANAVIA: Eating pickled herring at midnight. Herring is a very plentiful fish in the area, so it signifies a year of plenty
CHINA: NO white food on New Year’s Eve. Tofu, cauliflower, white beans, all that stuff. White is a bad luck color. Instead, eat colorful food.
AMERICAN SOUTH: Pork, beans (black eyed peas or crowder peas), and leafy greens. All to bring luck and prosperity. A Digression: Watch Michael Twitty in a conversation with Max Miller about the complex southern traditions and how they intertwine with those of enslaved people:
And now for some more:
CLOTHING:
Wear your red undies on New Year’s Eve. Yellow is also a preferred color.
Wear Polka dots. Symbolizing coins.
NOISE:
Many cultures have a tradition of banging pots, setting off fireworks, and such to drive away evil spirits
OTHERS:
Don’t clean your house New Year’s Day.
Open all the doors and windows on New Year’s Eve, so the new air can drive out the bad air
In the Scottish tradition of “First Foot”, welcome the first one to set foot in the house after midnight. Of course, in Scotland if the “first foot” is blonde or ginger, it means bad luck.
Don’t eat chicken or turkey: They scratch backwards to eat.
Don’t eat beef: They stand still.
Every culture and every FAMILY have their own superstitions. What are some of yours?
And now on to Tops!
TOP COMMENTS
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From belinda ridgewood:
Surely I scarcely need to mention, at this point, that this top comment comes from today's APR by Greg Dworkin. In response to considerable discussion about the person Denise Oliver Velez so rightly refers to as "Nikkki Haley", MargaretPOA crafted the REAL reason poor Nikkki will never be Trump's running mate.
TOP MOJO
Top Mojo for yesterday December 29, first comments and tip jars excluded. Thank you mik for the mojo magic! For those of you interested in How Top Mojo Works, please see his diary on FAQing Top Mojo.
TOP PICTURES
Top Pictures for December 30. Click any picture to be taken to the full comment or picture. Thank you to the wonderful dKos staff who made it possible to continue this feature in memory of jotter!
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