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Since 2020 has been such a weird year, when we all were forced to learn a “new normal,” lots of us are hankering for the old normal – particularly around the holidays. And on top of that, just about everyone is looking forward to seeing the end of this crappy year.

We may not be able to attend any huge New Year’s Eve parties to ring in 2021, but there are a few traditions we should be able to observe, for old time’s sake.

And what a segue, because that’s the first one.

Sing “Auld Lang Syne.”

Pretty strange that a song virtually unintelligible for those in English-speaking lands has become the defacto anthem for New Year’s Eve. The lyrics themselves are based on a Scottish poem by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the melody of a traditional folk song. Most of us can sing the first few lines of the song, and then that’s about it:

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne?

Chorus:

For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

After that, it really doesn’t matter because generally people are inebriated enough to be mumbling no matter what.

It was a Canadian Italian named Guy Lombardo who basically cemented the song into our culture. For nearly 50 years, from 1929 until 1976, Americans tuned in to the New Year’s Eve broadcast by Guy Lombardo and the Royal Canadians, first on radio and then on television. By the mid-70s, Lombardo’s broadcasts began to face serious competition from Dick Clark’s “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” which was designed to attract younger viewers with pop music rather than big band tunes. For decades, Lombardo owned December 31 — even earning the nickname “Mr. New Year’s Eve” — and every single year he played “Auld Lang Syne” to ring in the new year.

Here’s his very last New Year’s special and his big band version of “Auld Lang Syne” at about the 41:49 mark.

Wear something fancy

It turns out, people have been wearing sparkly clothes for a long time. Those little disks (that end up all over the floor after a party) called sequins can be traced all the way back to the one and only King Tut, who was alive from 1341 to 1323 B.C. According to Smithsonian magazine, when Tut’s tomb was discovered in 1922, his garments were covered in “gold sequin-like disks.”
They became all the rage from a fashion standpoint, and have never really gone away.

Since ancient times, people have been celebrating the change of year as an important rite of passage. According to Louise Miller, author of New Year’s Customs, Traditions & Superstitions From Around The World, many customs, traditions and superstitions are associated with a common belief that what you do on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day will set the tone or pattern for the year ahead.” By wearing your best attire, you set a charm of sorts to attract the prosperity and success you want for yourself during the new year. Similar to what we eat.

Eat something

In the American South, Hoppin’ John is eaten on New Year’s eve to bring good fortune. Pork-flavored field peas or black-eyed peas (symbolizing coins) and rice, are frequently served with collards or other cooked greens (as they’re the color of money) and cornbread (the color of gold). The dish has its roots in African and West Indian traditions and was most likely brought over by slaves to North America. In Spain, people eat 12 grapes, one for every stroke of the clock. The custom, which began at the turn of the 20th century and supposedly invented by grape producers, has been adopted by many Spanish-speaking nations such as Puerto Rico.

In Japan, one eats buckwheat soba noodles at midnight on New Year’s Eve to bid farewell to the year gone by and welcome the year to come. The tradition dates back to the 17th century, and the long noodles symbolize longevity and prosperity.

In Mexico, it’s traditional to make and eat tamales and on New Year’s, it’s often served with menudo, a tripe and hominy soup that’s famously good for hangovers. And speaking of that…

Get a hangover

Search online, and you’ll find a million cures for hangovers, ranging from chugging a bottle of water before you go to bed, to drinking a beer as soon as you wake up in the morning. Some people swear by taking a Zyrtec or other antihistamine before going to sleep.

And if a steaming bowl of tripe soup isn’t your thing, we know people who’ve had success with cheap fried tacos OR one that hasn’t failed us yet…a bottle of HOIST.   (stock up at our shop before bringing in the New Year!

There’s always the option of not drinking as well…but whatever floats your boat – we don’t judge.

However, you choose to say good riddance to 2020, we wish you a very safe and healthy New Year – and maybe it’s a good thing most of us will be celebrating at home this time.