New Year's Beliefs and Superstitions as told to us by our Mothers and Friends:
Wear yellow panties (underwear) to bring you success in the form of money in 2012.
Wear red panties (underwear) to keep or find true love in 2012.
Eat 12 grapes at midnight – For prosperity and luck - 1 for every month of the New Year.
At midnight walk with your suitcase outside to ensure travel in 2012.
Empty pockets or empty cupboards on New Year's Eve portend a year of poverty.
It's bad luck to let a fire go out on New Year's Eve.
Make as much noise as possible at midnight to scare away evil spirits.
At midnight, all the doors of a house must be opened to let the old year escape unimpeded.
To dance in the open air, especially round a tree, on New Year's Day, is declared to ensure luck in love and prosperity and freedom from ill health during the coming twelve months.
Wear something new on January 1 to increase the likelihood of your receiving more new garments during the year to follow.
A tradition common to the Southern part of the United States says that the eating of black-eyed peas on New Year's Day will attract both general good luck and money in particular to the one doing the dining.
Mexican sweet bread is baked with a baby Jesus hidden in the dough. When the bread is served, the recipient whose slice contains the baby Jesus is believed to be blessed with good luck in the New Year and has to throw a party in Feb.
Hanging wool sheep dolls on the door handle is a tradition meant to bring more prosperity.
Kissing at midnight will ensure love and affection for the next 12 months.
The first person to enter your home after the stroke of midnight will influence the year you're about to have. Ideally, he should be dark-haired, tall, and good-looking, and it would be even better if he came bearing certain small gifts such as a lump of coal, a silver coin, a bit of bread, a sprig of evergreen, and some salt. Blonde and redhead first footers bring bad luck, and female first footers should be shooed away before they bring disaster down on the household.
We wish you all a wonderful 2012!