While it’s common to make resolutions aimed at bettering yourself in the New Year, it’s also perfectly acceptable to wish for certain improvements through a little bit of luck. The year may be new, but there are many old superstitions to foretell the events of the coming 366 days… 2024 is a Leap Year, which only means there’s a bonus day for good luck, right? 

We consulted a favorite reference booklet, Ferne Shelton’s Pioneer Superstitions, published in 1969, for some ancient Appalachian advice on a few things to do, or avoid doing, this New Year’s Day to ensure the year ahead is filled with prosperity and easy living. 

Here are few of its words of wisdom and old-timey omens about the shape your year might take: 

While the clock is striking midnight on New Year’s Eve, you'll want to open all of the doors and windows to let out any bad luck that has made your house its home over the last year. You don't have to leave them open long. It helps if you make some loud noises to hasten bad luck and perhaps even the Devil, rumor has it he doesn't like loud sounds, out of the house.  

Don’t get too far ahead of yourself ushering in the New Year by checking to see how the months and days ahead fall because it’s bad luck to hang a calendar or check an almanac before daylight on New Year’s Day. 

Keep your belongings at home this New Year’s Day! Bad luck befalls those who take anything out of their house on January 1; however, any guests you may have dropping by – whether it’s for a New Year’s lunch or to watch the day’s big college football bowl games – must bring something with them. 

Speaking of houseguests, the more visitors you host, the more you can expect to welcome throughout the year. If any of the guests that show up are strangers, according to old-fashioned lore, an unfamiliar man entering your home will bring good luck, but a woman… Not so much. Better yet, the smart play in this case is likely simply knowing all the people you invite to come over. 

Leave the dirty laundry be until another day and do something meaningful! Completing a worthwhile activity on New Year’s Day prevents you from being “idle and piddling” the rest of the year, while washing clothes, though practical, bodes for a year filled with hard work. 

It's morning, a new day, and a New Year. Make sure to start it off right by shouting out first thing, "Rabbit, rabbit." Folklore holds that rabbits bring good luck and by making these the first words you speak for the new month or New Year, you'll have it the whole month and year long. 

While those superstitions might indicate if your year is full of luck, all signs point to your belly being full of food on New Year’s Day. Still, a traditional New Year’s Day meal has its own history of dishes suspected to deliver luck. Those include ham or some other type of pork, black-eyed peas or another bean or pea, and greens, which could be collards or cabbage. You might also want to add in some cornbread. Each of these is very important in order to have good luck in the coming year. 

Pork is on the menu because a hog is always rooting forward – it doesn't dig or scratch backward like a chicken or stand still like cattle. Black-eyed peas or lentils look like small coins and grow when cooked, just like one hopes a financial nest egg will increase in value. Greens also symbolize economic fortune and resemble folding money or greenbacks. Cornbread represents gold bars, so eating it is another way to increase your wealth. Also, according to superstition, it’s also financially prudent to place a dime underneath your plate loaded with all the wealth-endowing delicacies above. 

To help you get started with your meal preparations, we're sharing a recipe from one of our favorite cookbook authors, Sheri Castle:  

SOUTHERN SKILLET GREENS  

1 1/2 lb. quick-cooking greens, tough stems removed, and leaves thinly sliced 
2 thick bacon slices, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch strips 
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, if needed 
1 small onion, thinly sliced 
1 garlic clove, finely chopped 
2 teaspoons granulated sugar or firmly packed light brown sugar 
1 small dried hot chili or 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 
Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste 
Hot pepper vinegar, for serving 

Fill a large bowl with ice water. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt per cup of water. Add the greens and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon or strainer to immediately transfer the greens into the ice water to stop the cooking and set the color. Drain well and squeeze out as much water as possible. Use the cooked greens soon or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days. 

In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until it renders its fat and is crispy, stirring often, about 10 minutes. If the bacon does not render at least 2 tablespoons fat, stir in the olive oil. Stir in the onion and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, sugar and chili and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. (The whole chili will give mild heat and can be discarded before serving. Crushed flakes are a commitment to heat, but the amount can be adjusted to taste.) 

Add the greens and cook, tossing with tongs, until glossy and warmed through, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm with hot pepper vinegar on the side. Serves 4. 

Watch for Sheri on her nationally syndicated television PBS show, The Key Ingredient with Sheri Castle. In each episode, Sheri traces a single, local ingredient from its source to the kitchen as she introduces viewers to her area’s farmers, growers, fishermen, and chefs and shares approachable home cooking recipes and tips (we think you'll particularly enjoy the episode where she visits with her dad to grind cornmeal). Sheri, a native of Boone, North Carolina, is a renowned food writer and cooking instructor. Learn more about her television show HERE. 

The Mast Store wishes you and your family a Happy New Year and a prosperous, joyful 2024! 

 

 

Originally posted December 2014. Updated December 29, 2020, and December 20, 2023.