I hope 2021 has started off with a bang! Mine has. I found some things in the Old Farmer’s Almanac I want to share with you. 
Some New Year Traditions I found interesting are:
- Let’s Make Some Noise
- In the early American colonies, the sounds of pistol shots range through the air.
- Today, Italians let their church bells peal, the Swiss beat drums, and North Americans sound sirens and part horns to bid the old year farewell.
- Eat Something Special
- In the Southern United States, black-eyed peas and pork foretell good fortune. I thought we had some for New Years Day but didn’t; and, of course, no grocery stores were open, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that I’ve eaten enough black-eyed peas in my life to have good fortune in 2021.
- Apples dipped in honey are a Rosh Hashanah tradition.
- Drink a Beverage
- Wassail, the Gaelic term for “good health”, is served in some parts of England.
- In Holland, toasts are made with hot, spiced wine.
- Give a Gift
- New Year’s Day was once the time to swap presents.
- In Scotland, coal, shortbread, and silverware were traditionally exchanged for good luck.
Now, I ask you all, do you have a traditional you follow each year?
I waited until the end to add more to my part of yesterday’s Yee-Haw Day. I’m so excited to share some personal news with you all.
Oh, I have so much good news and things to be thankful for that I can hardly restraint myself.
First, the holiday weather was pretty. I didn’t get to join the family for Christmas in Dallas because of the virus but I got zoomed in, while everyone opened their presents. I received my traditional Tootsie Rolls from my youngest grandson, and a pink fitbit from one of my other grandsons. What a wonderful day. Hubby watched football and after holiday gift exchange I watched Hallmark movies. I’m so thankful for my family.
I’m so proud of my two oldest granddaughters who are essential workers, both in hospitals here and in Dallas. They are called our “trailblazers” since they got the pandemic shots first out of the box with no adverse reactions.
My oldest granddaughter became engaged to a wonderful man right before Christmas. They knew one another when she was in school and he was stationed at the airbase. Now Daddy was in the Army Air Corp, as it was called at the time, here in Amarillo. He met and married Mother, so he was called our “Flyboy” since he was in the Air Force. I call Dylin that. July here we come!
Since my middle Grandson was an Eagle Scout, he was sworn into the Navy just 
before the schools were closed down due to the Pandemic. He left for Chicago in April and then to begin his submarine training in Connecticut. He’ll be graduating with Honors! I’m so proud of him. He doesn’t know where he’ll be stationed next, but it’ll happen pretty soon. We are extremely proud of our Sailor.
I’m so proud of my family that I can hardly breath because of the excitement.
Since love is in the air, answer my question to be in the drawing
to win an autographed copy of one of our favorite anthologies,
Be My Texas Valentine.
I ask you all, do you have a traditional you follow each year?
May 2021 be a great year for all of us!
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A native Texan, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Phyliss Miranda still believes in the Code of the Old West and loves to share her love for antiques, the lost art of quilting, and the Wild West.
Visit her at phylissmiranda.com
Nope no New Year traditions here.
Hi anxious58, good to hear from you. This year was so funky that we didn’t do any of our traditions, not even black-eyed peas, which I think is fairly southern. Daddy was from the north and he said black-eyed peas where fed to the hogs not to people. Mother proved him wrong!!!! Have a great 2020!
Oh wo many things to be thankful for. What a wonderful beginning to a new year. At the beginning of the year my husband and I sit down together and we make out “goals” for the month of January. Then we break them down into “weekly” goals. We do this at the beginning of each month. For the most part it works real well.
quilting dash lady at comcast dot net
Hi Lori, good to hear from you. That is great! Super way of staying on track. Like you, I have so many things to be thankful for, although this has been a hard year for all. I pray 2021 is better. We’re working with our grown daughters to do something similar with our finances as you’re doing. Great ideas. Hope 2021 is a blessed year for you and yours.
I did the Southern thing, black-eyed peas, collard greens, and bbq country style ribs.
Oh Trudy, glad to hear from you, but you’re making me hungry! I love all of the foods except collard greens. My Granny was from Louisiana and Mama married my daddy who was from Ohio. We definitely had to meet in the middle. Ribs, yummy, I love them so much. I hope you have a wonderful 2021! Hugs, Phyliss
Happy New Year Phyliss. I’m faithful on eating my black eyed peas for luck and my cabbage for money. I also have pork too. You have a great 2021. Looks lime your family is doing well. Love you.
Hi Sweet Tonya. Happy New Year to you, too! I purchased some cabbage but have never had it for New Years. Thanks for the tip. We can all use more money. I also have pork, but again not this year. Cooking for two is hard especially on special days. My family is great. We are so fortunate. I pray you have a wonderful 2021! We need a lot of good coming our way. Have a great day, precious friend. Hugs, P
Happy New Year! We eat blacked-eyed peas, cornbread, greens and/or cabbage, and kielbasa every year. This year we added 12 grapes at midnight. I should have gotten us a king cake but I didn’t. We need all the luck we can get it 2021. 2020 has a hangover that hopefully the vaccine will help us!
Hi Sejoc1968, so good to hear from you. Happy New Year! I like everything you mentioned; although I’m not familiar with kielbasa. I’ve heard of it, however. I love the idea of 12 grapes at midnight! I’m like you I hope 2020 has such a headache that it’ll go to bed and never wake up. We all need a lot of luck and many blessings from the Good Lord. Hope your 2021 is fantastic! Big Hugs, P S: If you like southern cornbread, you’ll like the new Pillsbury Cornbread rolls in the refrig case along with biscuits. Now it’s sweet, has only six rolls you cook in a muffin pan, but OMG, they are soooooo good, but again you have to like the sweet southern type cornbread.
I do not have a tradition for New Year’s Eve, but Jan 1st I always make homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast….and then go on a diet the next day.
Hi Vicki, good to hear from you. Yummy!!! There’s nothing better than a homemade cinnamon roll. I’m so hungry right now I’m tempted to fix some, but mine would be out of the Pillsbury can. Diet, I’m always on one. Happy 2021 to you and yours. Hugs, Phyliss
Congratulations on your granddaughter’s engagement! I really don’t have any New Year traditions. I always think about black eyed peas, but also think how much I dislike them. So, I don’t eat them. Maybe that’s why my luck is never that great.
Hi Janine, so good to hear from you. Thanks for the congrats on my granddaughter’s engagement. She’s in the medical field, but she’s in full swing in getting the wedding she always dreamed of. I think her younger cousin set a high bar with her wedding two nears ago, so Em has to be just a tad higher. You’d think they were sisters instead of cousins. Thanks so much. I really love black-eyed peas. As I mentioned earlier, with Mama coming from the deep south they were part of her regular menu even when it wasn’t New Years. I just remembered another name for black-eyed peas …. Hoppin’ Johns! They are also known, mainly up north, as Cow Peas. Just eat one spoonful next year of Hoppin’ Johns for good luck. Have a wonderful 2021! Hugs, Phyliss
She really does have her hands full with work and the wedding. But I am sure the wedding will be beautiful.
corned beef and cabbage on new years day for us!
Hi Teresa, thanks for dropping by. I have a fresh head of cabbage, but hadn’t heard of corned beef and cabbage for New Years. I guess my 2022 menu will have to be increased. I hope you have a wonderful 2021! Hugs, Phyliss
Growing up, we always went to my grandparents, who lived next door, for holidays. She fixed the traditional black-eyed peas and collard greens.
Hi Linda, good to hear from you. I promise, even with deep southern grandparents I didn’t realize collard greens are a part of New Year’s menus. I’m not too crazy about them but do like them there “cow peas”. Hope 2021 is a fantastic year for you. Hugs, Phyliss
no traditions for me… congrats on the great news about your grandkids! 🙂
Hi Colleen, thanks so much for stopping by and reading my blog. Thanks for the congrats on my grands. I’m pretty proud of all of them. I have 8 and our two “babies” are in high school. Only one is married because the others are in careers that will hold them off on marriage for a while. Now don’t get me wrong, we have very real possibilities with their Plus-Ones, who we adore. I hope you have a wonderful 2021! Big hugs.
First of All Congratulations on your granddaughters engagement and All the good news! Our New Years tradition is we Always have black eyed peas on New Years day, and I also bake 2 rum cakes on New years day, one for us and one for our daughter and her little family who live in the same town we do, they only live like 3 blocks away, if our son and his little family lived in our same town I would bake them one also, they live six hours away unfortunately, but maybe one year they will be here for New Years day. I always stay up to bring the New Year also. May you and your family have a Very Happy and Blessed New Year. God Bless your granddaughters for being nurses., pleas Thank them. Our daughter and our son in law are R.N.’s also.
Thanks, Alicia, for your kind words So good to hear from you. Gosh, I wish I had more family living here but I don’t. Just the one and her precious husband live here. The rest are in the Dallas area, with the two “babies”, who are in high school, live in California. They’ve all lived here once or twice when they were growing up but when Mama moves they moved, unless they stayed with us for school. Then college came around and off they went. Thanks for the kind words about my two first responders. I’m proud of them for sure. Please thank your daughter and son-in-law for being R.N.’s. We sure need everyone of them. I’ll keep prayers and blessings in mind for them. I hope and pray that you and yours have a wonderful 2021 and your nurses stay safe and secure. Thanks for putting others ahead of themselves. I know you’re truly proud. Hugs. Phyliss
Black eyed peas here – though I’m a huge fan of Wassail! 😉
Hi Laura, you’re a woman after my heart! Peas and Wassail, now that’s the way to go. I truly appreciate you dropping by and reading my blog and taking the time to leave a comment. I know all of the Fillies are up to their eyeballs in work now that the new year has started. Hope you and yours have a fantastic 2021. Many blessings to all you all. Hugs, P
Our holidays were wonderful, even with the changes we had to make. Sounds like yours were, too. We have never gone out on New Year’s Eve so our tradition since our children were little was to always have a little snack fest. We struggle to stay up until midnight and then enjoy a totally relaxed New Year’s Day because after that it’s back to the routine.
Hi Sally, good to hear from you. Oh man, do I understand. We haven’t gone out for a lot of years but when we had a tons of family here, we’d always have a New Year’s Eve get-together. My hubby and I were very fortunate to have his family and mine blend together as one, so we never had “whose house are we going to” problems. We did split up a tad when the kids were young, but since they have kids of their own (mostly adult) we don’t have that problem. Hubby watches the games and I typically watch until NYC turns midnight and go to bed. This year was so odd. It felt like something was missing and of course it was. Hopefully, we’ll enjoy next year. Hope you and yours have a wonderful 2021! I plan to. Hugs, P
No real New Year traditions anymore. My mom was originally from the north and she used to make oyster soup for Christmas Eve sometimes. She said she grew up enjoying that. Usually we have a quiet day with my elderly mother.
It was fun hearing of your granddaughters engagement and your middle grandson graduating in the Navy. I wish them well and hope the New Year brings them lots of happiness. Happy New Year to you also and have a Blessed year!
Sharon, how nice to hear from you. Yes, I’d forgotten the oysters, since Daddy was from the north. When we made dressing, we had to fix some for Daddy with oysters in it. You’re so fortunate to have such wonderful memories. I enjoyed sharing the news of two of my grandchildren. They are sister and brother and I hope he isn’t out on a submarine somewhere and can’t come home for the wedding. He’s saving his leave, although he told me he had to work on New Year’s Eve then sent a pix of him and some buddies in NYC the same night on the family loop. Huh??? I ask myself. He had fun, I heard! LOL Thank for the sincere blessings and wishes for this coming year. I pray the Good Lord blesses you and yours. Hugs, P
New years traditional dinner i s prime rib, sweet potatoes, asparagus and a lettuce wedge with diced tomatoes and real blue cheese dressing! Congrats to your granddaughter!
Hi Thresa, so good to hear from you. Oh I’m so hungry now! Prime rib and sweet potatoes, plus asparagus are my favorite foods any time coming from Texas. Real food! Thanks for the congrats, we love her Devin. He’s a doll. I hope you and yours have a blessed 2021! Big Texas hugs to you.
Congratulations on all of your wonderful family news.
We had black-eyed peas and pork n New Year’s Day.
denise
My goodness, you have a wonderful transition from old year to new. You like so many others had a Zoom Christmas. It certainly did make things different, but better safe than endanger anyone. We want to be around for hugs next year. You are right to be so proud of your granddaughters and grandson. Many milestones in one year. Your oldest granddaughter is a beautiful young woman. They make a lovely couple. Hopefully things will be safer around wedding time. A big thank you to your granddaughters for their hospital work. I am glad they were able to get their vaccinations.
Our New Years’ traditions are mainly for New Year’s Day. My husband is usually in bed by 10 andI watch the ball drop in Times Square on TV. We watch the Rose Bowl Parade – once in person when my husband was stationed in Sacramento. It is a day for snacking. The table has all sorts of snack food and drink which is refreshed all day. There is football on TV or the back yard. There may be board games, card games, reading , playing with legos, and lots of visiting. It is just a day to relax, indulge, and leave all the hustle and bustle of the Holidays behind.
I hope you have a wonderful 2021. It certainly got off to a good start.
This anthology has some wonderful authors. It is sure to be a good read.