I've never been a big fan of New Year's Eve. All that forced frivolity feels less than festive to me. Plus it combines two of my least favorite things - staying up late and watching other people stay up late.
Some people love the tradition of getting all dressed up and ringing in the new year with champagne flutes and jewelry. This is common behavior among characters on soap operas and also among royalty. I know this because I have seen pictures of them doing it.
Then there are all those New Yorkers we watch on television each New Year's Eve, screaming in Times Square, waiting for hours and hours in the worst weather conditions for that ball to drop. Why are they penned in like that? Why are they so happy? Why does being happy make them scream? Why do I watch them on television in the first place?
This year’s lip synching fiasco was a new low for Mariah Carey but also for me. I skipped the live television but caught the you tube coverage of it in the morning and quickly added it to my Sunday sermon. I think people at church that day thought that it was me who was lip synching.
I may not like New Year's Eve but I do like a New Year. It's a marker, a fresh start and as a Southerner there are special foods I know I am supposed to eat on New Year's Day to ensure a year of wealth and health - black eyed peas for pennies, collard greens for dollar bills and pork for health.
People screaming in Times Square? That's nutty. Eating pork for health? Well, that's a tradition.