Old-timers and mountain-dwellers held fast to a series of strange, spooky, and sometimes comical traditions regarding the New Year. In regions like the Ozark Mountains and other remote communities, great stock was placed in carrying out these traditions to secure good luck for the New Year, or to avoid a curse in the coming months.
Below are some of the most common and most unusual customs that hill communities observed. Derived from Celtic superstitions, European folk tales, and seemingly the imaginations of many a remote population, the superstitions were carried on out of personal fears by some and respect for past generations by others.
Black-Eyed Peas and Hog Jowl
Mountain superstitions dictated the choice of meal served for New Year's Day to encourage good luck in the rest of the year. The traditional fair included black-eyed peas, served up in heaping helpings since each pea or bean eaten was a guarantee of one day of good luck.
Accompanying the beans was the "hog jowl", a primitive meat serving that also heralded good luck for the New Year. Woe to the dinner guest who avoided these two food items, since this meal was one of the most popular New Year's superstitions observed.
New Year's Visitors
Unexpected visitors were a cause for concern on New Year's Day, since the appearance of another person heralded a year full of company for the household. If a man visited a home unannounced on New Year's, it was considered a sign of good luck. A woman, however, was a sign that a troubled year lay ahead if she arrived unexpectedly on a family's doorstep on New Year's Day.
Others believed that no one should enter the home from the outside world without bringing in something from outside, to ensure a year of prosperity for the family within. Some families adhered strictly to the superstition that nothing should be carried outside on New Year's Day, to avoid carrying out the family's good luck for the year to come.
Superstitious Rituals
Many traditions call for a window to be opened a few minutes before midnight on New Year's Eve, in order to let out bad luck and welcome in good luck for the New Year. Others place strict emphasis on activities performed during New Year's Day itself. Working hard at a task will guarantee a year of hard labor, for instance, since whatever deeds are performed on that day will influence a person's actions for the rest of the year.
From the foods eaten to the chores performed, the customs varied from culture to culture, but remnants of some of these traditions still survive today, including a traditional serving of black-eyed peas with a Southern New Year's dinner.
Source:
Randolph, Vance. Ozark Superstitions. Style Press, 2008. ISBN: 1443726656
Sarah Briggs - For the last two years, I have designed primitive dolls and folk art sculptures (such as Edwin Drood and the Ghost of Marley) for Cordwood ...
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