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January 2022

The Omniscient NEW YEAR AT NORTHWOOD: TRADITIONS AROUND CAMPUS

BY ALESSIA IACONO STAFF WRITER

People around the world celebrate New Year’s in unique ways, ranging from different foods, games and activities, and Northwood students are no exception. With traditions like the ball drop and popping champagne, there are more cultural and creative traditions among students that may be less well known. According to an Omniscient poll of 33 responders, eight people say that food related traditions seem to be most common kinds of New Year’s custom. “We eat clam chowder to celebrate our Irish heritage,” freshman Max Mccauley said. “There are a few cultural traditions I participate in, and a lot of them my mom practiced in her childhood in the Philippines,” junior Nellie Errett said. “My favorite tradition is to have 12 [different] fruits. Each fruit represents a month of the year.” Special New Year’s foods that symbolize luck and good fortune are eaten as a part of a delicious meal. “A tradition I have is eating collard greens and black eyed peas with dinner on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day,” senior Mya McClarty said. “The collard greens represent wealth and the black eyed peas represent good luck” “On New Year’s Day, my family makes a dinner of collard greens, pork chops, black eyed peas, biscuits, and mashed potatoes,” junior Caydence Draper said. “The collards represent bringing in money in the new year, the pork chops represent health, and the black eyed eyed peas represent luck. We have biscuits and potatoes because some of the members of my family don’t like the other options.” Other than food related traditions, activities with friends and family are another way Northwood students like to ring in the new year. “In Korean culture it is traditional to celebrate New Year’s Day in order to have a happy/healthy following year,” freshman Naki Ellis said. “In the morning it is traditional to eat Tteokguk—a korean rice cake soup—for breakfast and then participate in Seh-beh. Seh-beh is a way of honoring elders and ancestors by the kids bowing to their elders and saying “saehae bok mani badeuseyo” which wishes good luck for the next year.” “We wear green and keep 12 one-dollar bills in our wallets—my mom calls it a “fat wallet”—or good luck in the upcoming year,” Errett said. New Year’s-themed activities vary from nostalgic, fun games to creative crafts. “I sit with my family and write down the year’s ‘favorites,’ like our favorite book that year, song, memory, family trip, etc. and compare them with every other year,” an anonymous student said. “I make a luck pig out of a lemon and a penny,” freshman Leila Sabbagh said. “They bring luck in the new year.” “My family goes bowling until the ball drop,” junior Isabella Papendieck said. Despite the many differences in New Year’s traditions at Northwood, students agree on one thing: no matter what, the new year is a time to spend doing things that make you happy, as well as a way to look back on the growth of yourself, a nation and the world around you. Happy New Year!