This holiday season I have been so blessed to have friends in the pacific northwest include me in all of their family holiday traditions. With a grateful heart, I still say “peace” to 2022; I’m over it. I have been joking with friends that since my divorce was finalized at the end of 2017, each of the last handful of years I have declared, “THIS is going to be my year.” Well, let’s just say, in hindsight, the transitions of the last few years have been … exhausting, not exhilarating.

So for 2023 my latest declaration is … “no expectations!” T shirt, anyone?

Even if I have “no expectations,” I have been thinking about new year traditions celebrated around the world. Some for good luck, some to clear the past, all interesting to me.

Instagram targeted me with a fun one this week: eat 12 grapes in the first minute of the new year, under a table. Upon some further research, this is a Spanish tradition. It’s thought grapes are good luck and represent prosperity — so eat one for every month of the new year. Just make sure to eat them all; if you don’t finish in the minute … bad luck for you.

But what about the table? Despite a lot of link clinks and even the exploration of the #12grapes hashtag, not much can be found on why the grapes should be consumed under the table. Even an article titled, “The ‘Sitting under the table’ New Year’s Eve Trend Explained,” offered little insight.

To really solidify the good new year juju, some suggest bright red lipstick and bright red undergarments too. You know, while eating the 12 grapes under the table.

So the Spanish are into grapes and red undies. What about other spots around the globe?

Let’s start with what I consider, “home,” the United States, specifically NYC. In 1907, New York Times owner Adolph Ochs, wanted to draw attention to this company’s new headquarters. The Times Square “ball drop” at midnight was born. The Waterford crystal ball, currently weighing in at 11,875 pounds, only missed two years, 1942 and 1943, when a wartime “dimout” in New York was in effect. The ball dropping signals a passage of time, and dates back to 1833. England’s Royal Observatory at Greenwich first installed a “time ball” that dropped at 1pm every day, to allow ship captains to accurately set their chronometers.

I am a big fan of the Brazilian new year customs; since it’s summer there in December, the tradition is to jump into the ocean, specifically over seven waves, each time making one of seven wishes for the new year. Oh and wear white … for spiritual purification.

Red underwear is also in play in Brazil, as is yellow underwear. Red to attract love, yellow to attract riches in the new year.

In Ireland, single women are said to sleep with mistletoe under their pillows on New Year’s Eve. The tradition is said to help find love in the new year.

In Ireland it’s also customary to open windows and doors at midnight, in hopes bad luck departs, and good spirits are invited in.

South Africans take the “out with the old, in with the new” adage seriously. On New Year’s Eve, old appliances are thrown out the windows of homes, making room for good fortune at home in the coming year.

Another seemingly wasteful tradition is that of those in Denmark. Sending friends and family good luck with dishes thrown/smashed against their doors is the name of their traditional game. The more broken dishes outside on the doorstep, the luckier the person will be in the new year.

In fairness the Danes have other new year traditions too. In Denmark and Norway towering cakes are a way of celebrating the new year. The cakes, usually a minimum of 18 layers!, is surely a symbol of a sweet new year.

May your new year be filled with hope, surmountable obstacles, love, faith, good health, and safety.

Happy 2023, the year of no expectations.