Many of our New Year traditions are not, despite our well wishes, about happiness.
Well, not on its own. We want to be happy, of course. But, when we are cracking open a new calendar, we are shrugging off a different truism. On Jan. 1, we embrace the idea that maybe money can buy happiness.
In Pennsylvania, many people embrace the tradition of a New Year’s meal of pork and sauerkraut. It is good luck, we say as we feast. The luck is about prosperity based on the idea that pigs root forward as they look for food, and the leaves of the cabbage represent money.
A slow cooker full of pork shoulder and fermented cabbage isn’t the only way to seek it out. In Southern or Black cultures, the tradition is often black-eyed peas with greens and cornbread, representing coins, dollars and gold, respectively. Eating 12 grapes at midnight in some Spanish cultures invites money for twelve months.
It isn’t just food. My mother goes on a hunt every year for Christmas cards with the three wise men on them. We hang them over our front doors, inviting the riches the Magi carried.
But, this year, despite high prices and tight budgets, I’m less concerned with prosperity in 2023 than I am with other things.
I want peace. It is in short supply worldwide. Thousands have died in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Civil and drug conflicts are being waged in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
And, lest we believe we are above that kind of thing, we need to look at the deep political divides between Democrat and Republican — and within both parties. Despite living side by side, people on each side are sometimes miles apart and have no interest in coming closer.
I want health. It isn’t just the coronavirus pandemic or RSV or the flu. It’s all of the health needs that surround us while remaining just out of reach for people who can’t afford sky-high deductibles and copays.
I want tolerance. Too often, people focus on their own rights and not the equal freedom of others. We need to recognize that, for every right, there is a corresponding level of responsibility.
And, more than anything, I want good will. Can’t we just hope for the best for each other? I am exhausted by perpetually bracing for not only the next bad thing to happen but the next condemnation that comes with it.
I’m still planning on my pork and sauerkraut on Sunday, and my wise men card will go over the door. But, in 2023, I just want to be open to more than money.
