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2022 is less than a week away, and if you are like me, you are ready to leave 2021 behind.

New Year’s Day kicks off a revitalization of self. It is a time to leave behind those things we never finished or maybe never even started and start over with a clean slate. What could be better than that?

Along with the new year comes new resolutions and promises of a better year ahead. Traditions hold a special place at the beginning of a year and I plan to do them all this year. I mean, it can’t hurt, right? Who doesn’t need a little good fortune in 2022?

I am a little concerned about the first one, however. Have you taken down your twinkling Christmas lights already? According to just about everyone on the world wide web, taking Christmas decorations down before the clock strikes midnight on the 31st will keep you from “dragging your bad luck through the New Year.” However, I feel I have been led astray my entire life because I have always been told it is bad luck to take them down before the new year has begun. Maybe granny was just tired and didn’t want to pack Santa away?? (I feel you granny!)

Next, make sure you have you loved one close by for that coveted midnight make out session. This tradition seems to come from English and German folklore warning us that the first person you come into contact with dictates their destiny for the year.

After the new year kicks off, and you have gotten a quick nap of course, put on those black-eyed peas! The tradition of eating black-eyed peas, pork and rice on January 1 is said to bring luck and peace for the year. Many people like to boost their luck by tossing a penny into their peas when cooking.

Fish is a good main dish to serve with the black-eyed peas. Many people serve fish because “fish only swim in one direction- forward, just like time.” So if you have an ex you want to leave behind, make sure you eat your fish and leave the past in the past!

Speaking of the past, throw open those shutters and air out the stench from 2021. Many people believe that opening doors and windows helps let the old year out, helping to give you a fresh start. Of course, most of these people probably didn’t have to run their air-conditioning on New Year’s Day either…..

I am not sure I would survive this one, but a girl has to do what a girl has to do. For over a hundred years, people start off the new year with a Polar Bear Plunge. Jumping into a freezing body of water is not how I want to start off my year, but I guess after nearly dying of hypothermia, everything else seems like a cake walk.

And we can’t forget making our resolutions for the new year. Some people start pondering what they will choose well before the new year and others repeat past resolutions, hoping this is the year that they are able to follow through. Losing weight, saving money, and just being a better person are a few common resolutions. The key to resolutions is picking one that has real meaning to you and holding yourself accountable. Otherwise, you end up like me, 40 and overweight and still saying this is the year I will be skinny!! (yeah, it ain’t happening this year either!)

No matter what your tradition or whether you are superstitious or not, I wish you a very happy New Year!