New Years Traditions: How to Celebrate in Ledyard

For at least 4,000 years, we've been celebrating the start of each new year, according to the History Channel. We've settled calendar problems, set Jan. 1 as New Year's Day and nowadays many begin celebrating on the eve of the New Year, Dec. 31.

Around the world and across the country, revelers enjoy food and drink and engage in various traditions, all with the hope for good luck in the coming year.

People bolt down grapes to symbolize their hopes for the months ahead in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries, according to the History Channel. In Sweden and Norway, they serve rice pudding with an almond hidden inside; it's said that whoever finds the nut can expect 12 months of good fortune.

In America, perhaps the most iconic tradition is the dropping of a 12-foot-in-diameter Waterford crystal ball in Times Square. Towns and cities across the country have adapted their own versions of the ritual, from Atlanta's Peach Drop to possums in Tallapoosa, Georgia, to pickles in Dillsburg, Pennsylvania.

We can't top that, but all of us at Ledyard Patch wish each of you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2013 and offer these ideas for how to celebrate New Year's in Ledyard:

1. Eat pork, greens and black-eyed peas: New Year's traditions in many parts of the world include eating foods thought to bring good fortune. Greens represent money while beans resemble coins, and both are thought to herald financial success in the coming year. The pig, which roots forward when foraging, represents progress and prosperity in some cultures.
2. Buy or make ring-shaped cakes or donuts. Ring-shaped cakes and pastries, a sign the year has come full circle, are traditional in several countries, including some in which celebrants hide inside special trinkets or coins, the recipient of which will be lucky in the new year, according to Epicurious. Buy a dozen from and a cake from Felicia's Sweetface Pastry Shoppe. Bake your own with ingredients from Starr Wood Village Market. Recipes include Three Kings Bread and Coffee-Glazed Doughnuts.
3. Have a champagne toast. You can toast 2013 with a bottle of champagne at home or a friend's house.
4. Sing the ever-popular Auld Lang Syne. The Scottish poem is traditionally sung as the clock strikes midnight and means "long, long ago" or "days gone by." Brush up on the lyrics.
5. Make your resolutions. The practice may have caught on the ancient Babylonians, "who made promises in order to earn the favor of the gods and start the year off on the right foot," according to the History Channel.
6. Attend mass or a watch service. Many ring in the New Year with a religious service. Know of any religious services set for New Year's Day? Tell us in the comments.

Upload your photos by clicking "Upload Photos and Videos" and don’t miss any of the local news you care about—subscribe to Ledyard Patch's newsletter, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.