Say goodbye to 2017 and get ready to welcome New Year with new hopes and aspirations. If you are planning to visit your friends or relatives or invite them to your home then here are the food and the traditions of Ireland that bring good luck in New Year for everyone.

The Food And The Traditions Of Ireland

1. Clean Your House And Your Surroundings

As with many festivals, you clean the house for something special same goes for New Year traditions. As the new year has new things, resolutions, new hopes to add to your list you need to thoroughly clean your house for a new start. Mind you this is not a new but customary traditions that has been going for centuries.

2. Get Rid Of Bad Luck

Another tradition involved banging on doors and walls of the house with Christmas bread to chase the bad luck out of the house and invite the good spirits in. This is also an old custom going on in every Irish home to get rid of bad vibes that might have got stuck in your homes and surrounding.

3. Honour The Dead

On New Year’s night, families would remember those who have passed away the year before by setting a place for them at the dinner table and leaving the door unlatched. It is believed that our ancestors or the dead come to bless us on New Year and also want to be a part of the celebration.

4. The First Visitor on New Year May Bring Good Luck

A lot of meaning was also placed on who would be the first person to pass through the door on New Year’s Day. If it was a tall, dark, handsome man, this would bring them home and its occupant’s good luck, but if it was a red-haired girl it would bring hardship and grief. If you believe it or not this is a custom in Ireland.

5. If you are single you need to place few things under your pillow

Those who were still single are advised to place sprigs of mistletoe, holly, and ivy leaves under their pillow so they would dream of their future wives and husbands. Also at midnight, many would enter the house through the front door and leave through the back door for good luck in every aspect of life.

6. Eat black-eyed Peas

Resembling coins, these beans are said to bring prosperity in the New Year and are often enjoyed in the traditional southern dish known as Hoppin’ John. In some households, enjoying the dish may be proceeded by a hopping dance performed around the table by the children.

7. Celebrate buttered bread

New Years Day in Ireland is also known as Day of the Buttered Bread  Tradition says buttered bread placed outside the front door symbolizes an absence of hunger in the household, and presumably for the year to come.

8. Have 12 grapes at midnight

Tradition says 12 grapes or raisins are eaten just before midnight (one at each chime of the clock) will bring good fortune for all 12 months of the year, as long as you finish all 12 before the final stroke.

9. Greens bring Irish Luck

Greens because of their deep emerald colour like kale, spinach, and collards are believed to bring wealth and health to those who enjoy it early and often in the New Year. For legume or meat-based dishes, a garnish of parsley is also said to ward off evil spirits.

Ireland is considered to be a country of many beliefs, customs, and traditions and thus you will find many New Year related customs and traditions, with most of them being meant more for fun and amusement. There is one such tradition of organizing New Year’s dips, which are organized around the waters of either the Irish Sea or the Atlantic Ocean. People are made to go through ice-cold waters with short swims. Also, people keep their cellar equipped with coals, and houses with abundant provisions, as doing so is believed to ensure a bountiful coming year. So celebrate with the tradition you like with your friends and relatives wishing everyone a happy new year.

Conclusion

As you bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new with open arms, consider embracing the charming traditions and customs of Ireland. From cleaning your surroundings to symbolically ridding your space of bad luck, these practices hold significance and hope for a fresh start. Honoring the departed, welcoming the first visitor, and placing items under your pillow for dreams of love are all part of Ireland’s rich cultural tapestry. Incorporating elements like black-eyed peas, buttered bread, and grapes at midnight signifies prosperity and luck. These heartwarming traditions reflect Ireland’s deep-rooted beliefs, creating a delightful way to enter the New Year.