Have a Great New Year

 Let’s face it, as the old year draws to a close everyone starts thinking about how nice it would be if the new year ended up being their best yet. Depending on your heritage and where you live, there are a variety of ideas about how you can best enhance your chances for a healthy, happy and prosperous new year. Below you’ll find some beliefs from around the globe.

• At the stroke of midnight on December 31 in many Spanish-speaking countries it is customary to eat 12 grapes—one for each of the months in the upcoming year. The goal is to finish all 12 during the first minute of the new year and to make a wish for each grape eaten.
• Legumes play an important role for many this time of year, both in seeing the old year out and in greeting the new. To increase their wealth, many in South America eat at least one teaspoon full of lentils on New Year’s Eve. While in the United States, especially in the South, many believe including black-eyed peas in a meal on New Year’s Day is vital for enjoying good luck in the new year.
• Green vegetables symbolize money to some, so in Bermuda they eat green pea soup on New Year’s Day.
• There are those for whom pomegranate seeds play a year-long role: on New Year’s Eve you’re supposed to suck on seven of these them, then take them out and dry them on a paper towel. Once dry, you wrap the seeds in paper and place them in your wallet and keep them there all year for increased wealth.
• Many consider doing laundry on New Year’s Day absolutely verboten, as this symbolizes washing your loved ones away.
• By the same token, sweeping your home on either New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day is considered ill-advised by some as you could be sweeping your luck away.
• And speaking of sweeping, to rid yourself of old problems, throw out your old broom on New Year’s Eve and bring a new broom into your home on January 1^st (just don’t use it until January 2^nd at the earliest).
• To make room for new and wonderful things in your life, there are those who advise clearing the clutter out of your house prior to New Year’s Eve. By making your home clean and getting rid of old and broken stuff you help to keep from dragging all types of messes into the new year.
• Let the old air and old problems out of your house and bring in fresh new air and opportunities by opening your doors and/or windows on New Year’s Day.
• Make sure your cupboards are well stocked on the first day of the year to symbolize the plenty you’ll enjoy all year long. An extra bag of rice is considered especially lucky.
• Wearing new clothes on New Year’s Day is supposed to bring good luck and increase your chances of being properly dressed for the rest of the year.
• Make sure you have a coin or a dollar bill in your shoe and that you have at least some cash in your wallet.
• But never pay any bills on New Year’s Day, so you don’t find yourself paying bills all year long.
• For good luck, do throw 12 pennies over your shoulder behind you on the street. This symbolizes freeing yourself from poverty, just be sure not to pick up any of the pennies you threw as that would be like bringing poverty back into your life.
• However, if you find a coin that you personally did not drop, picking it up symbolizes that you’re receiving a new flow of prosperity.
• In many parts of South America it’s believed If you’d like to travel in the new year, you should carry a suitcase (it can be empty) either around your house or your neighborhood.

Whatever steps you do or don’t take leading up to and after the stroke of midnight on December 31, all of us here at Ideal Homes wish all of you and everyone you love an absolutely delightful new year. In every way that counts. Msay 2020 be your best year yet!