A Happy and Prosperous New Year
Preparing for New Year’s Eve while living in Paris, my Italian friend, Alessandra, told me that whatever you do on New Year’s Day is how you’ll spend the rest of the year. I’d never heard that before, so I did a little research. Turns out that’s a loose interpretation of a common belief that manifests in many different superstitions. (My favorite is making sure that the first person to enter your household is a tall, dark-haired man bearing gifts.) Each culture has its own tradition for bringing luck and prosperity in the new year. Here’s why Southerners eat black-eyed peas and greens.