New Year Celebrations and Traditions

As the year draws to a close it’s about time to start thinking of ways to ring in the new year. It’s commonplace in the United States to pop bottles of champagne, light off fireworks, and share a kiss with the one you love when the clock strikes midnight. Did you know that this tradition dates back to ancient Europe? It was believed that this ritual would help to ward off evil spirits in the new year. People and their families have been gathering around the television for decades to watch the New Years' ball drop in time square.

Many folks like to use the start of the new year to try and better themselves by thinking of New Year's resolutions. The Tradition of New Year's resolutions is one in which a person resolves to continue good practices, change an undesired trait or behavior, accomplish a personal goal, or otherwise improve their behavior at the beginning of a calendar year.

People across the world celebrate the beginning of a new year in many different ways. The Spanish start off their new year by eating twelve grapes which symbolize each strike of the clock. Chucking plates at your friends usually signals a conversation gone wrong. In Denmark, however, New Year’s Eve traditions like this bring your loved ones good luck. Tradition has it that the more broken kitchenware you accumulate on your doorstep, the better off you’ll be.

In Haiti it is tradition to make and share soup joumou. Soup joumou is a pumpkin based soup that is made and then shared so that people may get to try different variations on the same recipe. Here is a list of ingredients with which to make soup joumou;

1 Butternut squash about 2 ½ – 3 lbs.

3 cups Macaroni

1 lb. Beef cubes

1 tablespoon fresh ginger chopped

Let us know what traditions you have by leaving a comment on one of our social media pages! We would love to learn more about our residents and their traditions!