New Year’s Traditions  

By: Julia Johnson 

Every New Year’s Eve people prepare to watch the parade on KPBS or other stations. Many states and people do different things like watching the countdown, ball drop, making toasts to the New Year, and kids having light sparklers and many other traditions.  

There are countries that have a wide variety of traditions like Spain has a challenge in speed eating 12 grapes at midnight on New Year’s Eve, one each time the clock chimes. Switzerland, they do not eat their treat though they drop whipped cream on the floor, meaning their richness in the coming year. In Brazil many people can go to the beach to celebrate New Year. For us in the United States, millions gather around the TV sets or stand in the streets of Times Square. 

When asked, what do they do on New Year to celebrate or have any traditions with family, Mrs. Betts replied with “Typically on NYE, we have a party with our friends with lots of food and snacks for all the kids. This year though, we have a wedding that day. On actual New Year’s Day, we will make sauerkraut and kielbasa for good luck!”  

Mrs. Wensel answered, “We don’t usually stay up for midnight anymore because our kids usually fall asleep way before the ball drops! But one tradition that we do have is that on New Year’s Day, we always eat pork, and sauerkraut.”  

Mr. Haponski, “For New Year’s I typically get together with family and friends. The one tradition that we do on New Year’s is to eat pork and not chicken. Pigs root forward, which is good luck, while chickens scratch backwards which is bad luck.”  

New Year’s can mean many things to anyone just like it means the end of one year and a new beginning starts. Just like having family together to eat, talk, and celebrate in their own way.