What does ‘Auld Lang Syne’ mean, and other New Year’s Eve traditions explained
New Year’s Eve is upon us. Cue the fireworks, champagne and dowdy tunes to which no one knows the lyrics.
There’s a slew of lesser-known traditions on this holiday often overshadowed by big brother Christmas, most of which have something to do with music, food and falling objects.
Here’s a guide to where they originated and what on earth it all means.
What’s all this about ‘Auld Lang Syne’?
If holiday songs were Muppets characters, this New Year’s Eve classic would be the “hapless” Beaker who speaks exclusively in meeps — ever present but almost entirely undecipherable.
“It has aptly been described as ‘the song that nobody knows,’” according to the Robert Burns website. Burns is credited with first putting the old Scottish poem to paper in 1788. It was later popularized by Guy Lombardo and His Royal Canadians, who performed a version of the song every New Year’s Eve for nearly four decades starting in 1939.
So let’s be clear: no matter how many times you sing “Auld Lang Syne” incorrectly, the lyrics are not, in fact, “old lawn sign.”
“Auld Lang Syne” translates to “old long since,” according to Reader’s Digest. But the magazine boils its meaning down to this: “Let’s drink to days gone by.”
All the fixins for a ‘Good Luck Hoppin’ John’
People ring in the new year with a mix of rather interesting foods in the United States — most of which were borrowed.
In the South, that food is “Hoppin’ John” — a dish of black-eyed peas and meat that “portends good fortune,” according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac. The ingredients are symbolic: black-eyed peas for coins, collard greens for cash, corn bread for gold and tomatoes for health.
The dish is typically associated with North and South Carolina, according to the Almanac. But the recipe itself is thought to have started with African slaves who introduced black-eyed peas to America.
Historians are less certain as to where the name “Hoppin’ John” originates.
According to the Almanac, some believe a man with a disability first sold the dish in Charleston in 1841. Others say children used to hop around the table when it was brought out.
“A more dubious explanation suggests that in South Carolina it was customary to invite a guest to dinner by saying, ‘Hop in, John,’ the Almanac states.
Elsewhere in the world, ring-shaped foods like doughnuts and pretzels are also thought to symbolize “coming full circle,” according to the Almanac.
People in Germany eat sauerkraut, a distant cousin of collard greens also believed to represent money because of its green hue. The dish is also common in the Midwest, where a large number of German descendants live.
But whatever you do, don’t eat chicken.
Brazilians believe chickens, which scratch the earth backwards, are bad luck because “consuming poultry would mean going backwards in life, rather than forward,” Live Science reported.
‘Kiss the person you hope to keep kissing’
Some of the most endearing rituals of New Year’s Eve are rooted in some bizarre superstitions.
According to Live Science, evil spirits are thought to “run amok” as the seasons change from warm to cold.
A kiss was a form of blessing or protection — a good luck charm “as people entered the vulnerable, transitional period of the new year,” the science magazine states.
Excessive noise making, be it fireworks or sparklers, is embedded in the same superstition. Live Science reported such a ruckus was likely to root out “the spooky creatures lurking in the night.”
In a break from evil, PBS reported the tradition of dropping items from the night sky at the stroke of midnight began with the New York Times in 1908.
That year, the publisher reportedly commissioned a 700-pound ball to be slowly lowered into Times Square.
Why a ball?
Sailors relied on what were known as “time balls” to set their watches while at sea, PBS reported.
“With a telescope, they would scope the harbor and watch for a time ball to drop at a specific time, usually noon or 1 p.m.,” according to the media outlet.
The New York Times engineer at the time of the first midnight ball drop was reportedly inspired by the ritual.
This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 3:42 PM.
