Best Year Ever

The Pohick family has decided that this is going to be the best year ever. We are determined that the entire Pohick clan is going to be healthy and happy this year. We've done everything that we can to set ourselves up for success. We each had our portion of Pork and Sauerkraut on New Year's Day for luck. This is an old tradition that we inherited from our Pennsylvania Dutch roots.

Many other cultures have similar New Year's food traditions.

• It is a Cuban tradition to eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight. The 12 grapes signify the last twelve months of the year.
• German folklore says that eating herring at the stroke of midnight will bring luck for the next year.
• Eating pickled herring as the first bite of the New Year brings good luck to those of Polish descent.
• In the southern United States, it is believed eating black eyed peas on New Year's eve will bring luck for the coming year.
• Also from the south comes the custom of eating greens such as cabbage, collard greens, mustard greens, kale or spinach to bring money.

We briefly considered maximizing our luck for the year by mixing up a nice pot of pork, sauerkraut, grapes, pickled herring, black eyed peas, collard greens and spinach. We finally decided though that this concoction might make us just a little too lucky. We had just planned on having a carefree and relaxing day. If we consumed our "Super Lucky Concoction" we'd probably have some guy with a super sized check and balloons standing at the door, and who needs all that drama. We'll settle for just our regular allotment of good luck and we hope that you all get your share as well.

So what special New Year's food traditions do you have in your family?