Ghosts and New Years Traditions

My family's New Year's Day meal wouldn't be complete without a side dish of Black-eyed peas. The peas are eaten to ensure good luck and prosperity in the coming year. It's a tradition that goes back as far as I can remember. Another favorite New Year's Day tradition is watching Pasadena's Rose Parade on television. All the artistry and the work that go into each float is truly amazing. But worth the effort when you realize how many people around the world enjoy seeing the parade. Maybe it isn't only the living that can enjoy the festivities of a New Year.

Many hauntings occur at regular intervals that coincide with some important date to the spirits. It's possible that ghosts are just as fond of tradition as the living are. Early in the evening of New Years Eve the spirit of Father Junipero Serra is believed to revisit his beloved Carmel Mission in Carmel California. His ghost is said to silently walk through the courtyard and into the church where he quickly vanishes.

I once worked with a woman who lived alone except for the ghosts she called her "party animals". She said that her home came alive with the distinct sounds of a ghostly party every New Years Eve. The first year she lived in the home she went to bed early on New Years Eve only to be startled awake by the sound of the soft laughter of a happy crowd, the tinkle of glasses, and champagne corks popping. But after a few years, she came to realize it was only her spirits enjoying some spirited New Years Eve gaiety.

While some people believe that ghosts won't make an appearance on Christmas Eve, there are no such restrictions placed on New Years Eve. This could explain the stories of phantom cars that have been seen racing certain highways on that night. Perhaps it is nothing but ghostly partygoers from long ago, late for the last big bash of the year. Yield to them please.

Some folks fill all their salt shakers, flour bins and other canisters before the day of the New Year. They believe that this guarantees prosperity in the year ahead. I remember the year a friend of Gran's claimed a playful ghost dumped all the sugar, the flour and the coffee in the middle of the kitchen floor on New Years Eve. She worked frantically and was able to clear up the mess just before the clock struck midnight. And though she didn't get rich that year, she did have a bit of luck at the church's Bingo game.

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