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New Year's Day Food and Resolutions
Quotes
"In the New Year, I resolve to do just about what I did last year!" (Anon)
"New Year's Day is every man's birthday." (Charles Lamb)
Why Eat Black-eyed Peas on New Year's Day?
Southern tradition holds that the first food to be eaten on New Year's Day should be black-eyed peas for luck and prosperity. The tradition of the New Year's table supposedly brings prosperity for the coming year, although no one is quite sure why or even where the tradition originated. Some say the financial good fortune comes because peas look like coins and collards resemble folding money. People of many cultures eat greens for New Year's�Germans are said to eat cabbage.
Black-eyed peas are a variety of the cowpea and part of the family of beans and peas. Even though it's myth that black-eyed peas bring good luck, it's a fact that they can benefit your health. Just one cup of black-eyed peas delivers 20 percent of the daily magnesium, calcium, and iron one needs, plus they are a good source of soluble and insoluble fiber, according to the Mayo Clinic website.
The traditional meal also includes collard, turnip, or mustard greens, and ham. The peas, since they swell when cooked, symbolize prosperity; the greens symbolize money; the pork, because pigs root forward when foraging, represents positive motion. Cornbread, which represents gold, also often accompanies this meal.
Resolutions
The ancient Babylonians are said to have been the first people to make New Year's resolutions, some 4,000 years ago. They were also the first to hold recorded celebrations in honor of the new year (although for them the year began not in January but in mid-March), when the crops were planted. According to a YouGov poll, the most common aspirations for the coming year in the U.S. are to eat healthier, get more exercise, and to save more money.
Making your New Year's resolution stick.
- Be realistic!
- Start small. Make resolutions that you think you can keep.
- Change one behavior at a time. Unhealthy behaviors develop over the course of time.
- Talk about it. Share your experiences with family and friends.
- Don't beat yourself up. Perfection is unattainable.
- Ask for support.
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Tip of the Week
In essence, a "resolution" is a promise to yourself that you will do or not do something. As we all know, promises are not to be broken, and it's better not to make a promise if one is going to break it. Be reasonable in making promises to yourself over 2019, and a year from now you can look back very satisfied and successful.
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