New Year's

---

Christmas activities and obligations are now complete. You'll either participate in the after Christmas sales madness or you won't.

You're probably thinking of New Year's Eve/ Day in one way or another. Probable areas of thoughts could include:

* you've taken the week between Christmas and New Year's as vacation from work and only have X number of days until you hit the grindstone again

* you haven't taken any vacation from work but will only have to work X number of days until you have another day (or more) of a holiday

* the New Year's Eve party(ies)

* the New Year's Day family/ friends / food gatherings

* the New Year's Day game(s)

* when school reconvenes

* bills / taxes

* the next holiday from school or work will be........

Our Golden Triangle area, (which is a loving term for Beaumont, Orange, Port Arthur and in my opinion all the surrounding areas of southeast Texas),

offers a multitude of activities to celebrate the end of 2007 and the beginning of a brand new 2008.

Websites are available for the city of each of Beaumont, Port Arthur, Orange. You can also use your search engine for events and entertainment in these areas.

Traditions of this special holiday are as diverse as our area's grand population and blending of cultures. Food is one of the areas of focus in these traditions.

I can only speak of the foods associated with New Year's from my southeast Texas family traditions. I cannot say that it is a cultural thing. I have never had any interest in my genealogy background. As far as I'm concerned all my family were southeast Texans from and in a very small area of our region.

Any time between 12:00 A.M and 11:59 P.M. on January 1st you were expected to at least taste black-eyed peas (for luck) and cabbage (for money).

This was to ensure (hopefully) that you would receive these blessings during the coming year.

I truly cannot ever remember any family member attributing the ingestion or lack of any of these food traditions / superstitions to their fate, be it good or bad.

But woe to you (in fun) if you did not participate on New Year's Day!

There was more than black-eyed peas and cabbage. These were always ready by midnight should anyone be awake and want to get a jump start on the new year. There was dinner to look forward to (the noon meal) of those and cornbread, ham, potato salad, five cup salad, whole kernel corn, pickles, olives, rolls, stuffed celery, tomatoes (if anyone still had a producing plant), green salad (with a choice of Italian or Bleu Cheese dressing), sweet tea (unsweetened for me and grandmom), pies, cakes, cookies and coffee.

Then the men and older boys would retire to the living room to watch TV (football now, wrestling in earlier years), and more than likely nod off for a little nap.

The kids would escape outside to hoop, holler and play. The littlest ones would be put down for a nap. The women and older girls would perform tag teams of putting food away, clearing dishes, washing and drying., Sometimes your turn would be to sit at the table and chat and chill - the kitchen area could only hold so many people.

Now I've made myself hungry and melancholy.

Our traditional recipes evolved somewhat during the late 70s and 80s. Black-eyed peas can be made more enticing, Maybe I'll share recipes at another time.

I use to beat my little brother up if I even THOUGHT he had read my diary. Now I'm putting my thoughts out on the WWW. What a life.

Enjoy the 2008 year in whatever you do. Don't sweat the small stuff. There's so very much more that is worse.

Love, hope, joy and smiles to all.

---