Back in the Day: How many of you still follow these New Year traditions?

Back in the day, along with black-eyed peas and collard greens, gathering with family on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day was an important tradition. by Alonzo Kittrels, Philadelphia Tribune Correspondent During this time of the year, I regularly write about the ways some of our grandparents, parents and today’s seniors brought in the New Year. As we prepare to bring in 2024, I shall pull from past columns and share things that people did in the past. Perhaps, some young folks will embrace these past activities and place them on their radar to revisit how things were on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, back in the day. Talk with anyone that grew up back in the day of their memories of bringing in a New Year and I cannot imagine anything except black-eyed peas and collard greens being at the top of their list. According to our ancestors, black-eyed peas cooking at the start of the New Year brought good luck. Before I knew anything about the change from one year to another, I knew about the tradition of black-eyed peas. If you visit any household on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day and find...