I packed a can of sauerkraut in my luggage.
I’ll be gone over New Year’s and worried that I wouldn’t be able to eat sauerkraut on New Year’s Day– a German tradition my husband and I take very seriously every year. Eating sauerkraut on New Year’s Day is supposed to bring prosperity in the new year. We’re eating our sauerkraut, Prosperity gods! Show us the money!
Some Latin New Year’s Eve traditions were mentioned in the Kroger mymagazine we got in the mail. We might have to incorporate a few of these, too:
1. Dressing in all white on New Year’s Eve. This Brazilian tradition is a reminder to look at the coming year as a clean slate, filled with possibilities.
2. In Mexico, it’s tradition to place a woolly stuffed lamb by the front door. It’s supposed to bring wealth and money. I think it will only bring angst at my house. My dog loves stuffed animals.
3. Eat 12 grapes at midnight. We saw Gloria do this on an episode of Modern Family. You must eat one grape for each stroke of the clock at midnight before the last bell tolls. If you can do that, you’ll have good luck all year long.
4. Stroll with a suitcase. In Mexico and Colombia, people drag out their suitcases and walk around the block. Making a circle with a suitcase in tow ensures plenty of opportunities for travel and adventure in the new year. I’m doing this one!!
5. Hide cash around the house. The act itself is supposed to bring good luck, and you’ll find hidden money throughout the new year. (Unless this backfires and you don’t.)
6. Hold some silver. In some countries, they believe it’s good luck to hold some silver in your hand as the clock strikes twelve.
7. Toss a bucket of water. In Cuba, New Year’s Eve is a time to wash away the past. It’s a time for cleansing, so they take a bucket of water and toss it out the door at midnight to welcome in a fresh clean year.
So, I’ll be spending my New Year’s Eve wearing white, hauling my suitcase behind me as I hold silver in one hand and 12 grapes to gobble at midnight in the other. Then, New Year’s Day I’ll be savoring my sauerkraut and all the wealth it’s sure to bring me in the new year.
What will you be doing?
Browsing The Atlas 
Dude! That’s a great opening line. I laughed so hard. You’re the cutest. I really like the suitcase thing. I imagine that would be really inspiring to see. Heck, I’d join in!
We’re going to Seattle on New Year’s Day for a couple of nights. Change of scenery, which will be nice!
Seattle sounds fun. I was the only one dragging a suitcase at midnight. Guess everyone else can stay home! 😉
🙂 We’re eating it raw out of a can, but by God, we’re eating it!
You are brave. I’m afraid TSA would grab my luggage and throw me in jail when they found the sauerkraut. 🙂 –Curt
What?! Did you forget to mention the anti-evil eyes hanging around your kitchen and your wearing your three Pandora copper bracelets? I’ll just stick to the herring in sauce.
Herring in sauce? I could do that. Any specific sauce?
Sour cream. Happy New Year. Looking forward to another summer in Ohio, #11. Kindest regards.
Love the hiding cash around the house tradition. But then again, knowing me, I’ll put it in some place I THINK I’ll find it in and then likely I’ll never see it again. I’ve got work on NYE so all I’ll be doing is probably come home after a long day, watch the NYC countdown over the Internet, and then go to bed happy that I get New Year’s Day off. Happy New Year to you and your family! 🙂
Happy New Year to you, too! I think it would be luckier for us all if we could find other people to hide money in our houses. 🙂
I’ll be in bed by midnight. My fondest memory of NYE is as a young lad listening to the steam trains (yes, that long ago!) on the railway a couple of miles away sound their whistles at midnight.
I’ve never been one to wish for prosperity, which is just as well 🙂
I usually have to be woken up at midnight to watch the ball drop on TV, but last night we actually stayed up, went to a party and danced. This year is starting off spectacularly already. Happy New Year, Roy!
Lol. I just like to set the tone for the kind of year I want to have. Usually I ring in the stroke of midnight with my husband (kiss + a glass of sparkling grape juice) and then, after a good night’s sleep, we enjoy each other’s company, maybe clean the house or go for a run, read, etc. I like to make sure I do some writing too.
I don’t think I could do that grape thing… (But now I want to find that episode of Modern Family, haha!)
I’m not much for the NYE hoopla, but I am very superstitious. I actually stayed up this year and went to a party. It’s been years since I did that.
I agree, fantastic opening line! I didn’t know about the sauerkraut tradition. We put lentils in our wallets on the first day of the year, an Italian tradition meant to bring good fortune. Of course, this means that one has little dried lentils falling out of one’s wallet for months to come with the accompanying quizzical look from cashiers (do I tell them it’s lentil, I think to myself, or is that stranger than whatever they might think it is?).
Happy New Year!!!!!
You can’t go wrong! Good luck and all the best in 2015. Not sure I’ll be eating much sauerkraut… is it really worth it? 🙂