Many cultures have a tradition of celebrating the end of the old year and the beginning of a new one to bring good luck in the coming year. In the American South, a dish of cooked black-eyed peas with onions, rice, and greens (known as “hoppin’ John”) eaten on New Year’s Day is said to ensure riches and good fortune. In China, houses are cleaned to “sweep out” all the bad luck, and doors and windows are decorated with red paper banners with good wishes written on them. And in Spain, when the clock strikes midnight, people eat one grape with each chime of the bell. If all the grapes are sweet, it will be a “fruitful” year – but watch out for bitter grapes that foretell difficult months ahead!

Humans have always looked for signs and symbols to predict the future. Our modern astrological horoscopes are based on the ancient tradition of tracking the movements of the stars and using them to mark special dates, and to foretell what is to come, or explain what has occurred. People looked up to the stars, but also down to the earth: animals were used in divination as well, using haruspicy, where a wise man (a haruspex) would look carefully at the entrails of a slaughtered animal and, by noting the health, shape, and configuration of the animal’s innards, be able to answer the questions of the person for whom the animal was sacrificed.

Signs and portents were also read by looking at the flights of birds. A caged bird might be set free, and answers given by whether the bird flew left, or right, or in circles. This practice of augury and the actions of the auspex who read the signs give us the words auspice, meaning “omen, sign” and auspicious, an adjective meaning “a good omen, leading to success.” Interestingly, although the word auspice is used to refer to both good and bad omens, the adjective is only used to refer to good ones.

What traditions do you follow to attract good luck in the new year?