Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year’s Eve. And this year, revelers ringing in 2010 will be treated to the rare sight. But don’t expect it to be blue—the name has nothing to do with the color of our closest celestial neighbor. A blue moon, by definition, is the second full moon occurring in a single month. A full moon was visible on December second, and will appear again just in time for the New Year’s countdown.
And, in case you were wondering, the last blue moon that occurred on New Year’s Eve was nineteen years ago, in 1990. We won’t see another until 2028.
PrairiePopulistsAndProgressives.net 
Happy new year!
I couldn’t decide where to post this info — here on the Public Square or the fine “FOOD” post? I haven’t yet watched the documentary so I’ll post here.
Eat Yourself Lucky: Good Luck Foods for New Year’s Day
Noodles — In many Asian countries, long noodles are eaten on New Year’s Day in order to bring a long life. One catch: You can’t break the noodle before it is all in your mouth.
Pork — Due to pigs’ dining habits, many countries, including Austria, Cuba, and Spain, view pork as a good-luck food. As pigs root for food, they keep their feet planted and push their snouts forward, signifying progress and future properity.
Lentils — Thought to resemble coins, lentils are eaten throughout Italy for good fortune in the new year. Plus, the legumes plump (with water) as they cook, symbolizing growing wealth.
Fish — In North America, Asia, and Europe, people eat fish to celebrate the new year. In some countries, people associate fish with moving forward into the new year since fish swim forward. Other people think fish symbolize abundance since they swim in schools.
Greens — It’s no coincidence that this good-luck food is the color of money. Greens, such as kale, collards, and cabbage, are traditionally eaten on New Year’s Day because of their association with wealth and economic prosperity.
Black-Eyed Peas — A common good luck food in the southern United States, black-eyed peas are thought to bring prosperity, their shape and abundance representing coins. Hoppin’ John is the classic Southern New Year’s dish.
Pomegranate — Long associated with abundance and fertility, pomegranates are eaten in Turkey and other Mediterranean countries for luck in the new year.
Citrus — When the Chinese celebrate New Year’s Day, they often set out bowls of oranges and tangerines to promote prosperity. This tradition developed from a play on words: “tangerine” and “orange” sound much like “luck” and “wealth,” respectively, in the Chinese language.
Grapes — At midnight on New Year’s Eve, revelers in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries eat 12 grapes — one for every strike of the clock and month in the year. This custom grew from a grape surplus in the Alicante region of Spain in 1909, and celebrates the coming of a sweet year.
Round Cakes and Breads — Eating round or ring-shaped cakes, pastries, and breads is a popular New Year’s tradition in various countries. In Greece, families bake vassilopita, a cake containing a hidden good-luck coin. Italians eat sweet panetonne, Mexicans enjoy the ring-shaped rosca de reyes cake, and the Dutch indulge in puffed, doughnut-like ollie bollen.
Find receipes for each of the above ‘lucky’ foods here.
Too bad Time Warner Cable systems isn’t here locally! 🙂
Millions of homes could see Fox News dropped from their cable package if News Corporation fails to reach a deal with Time Warner on a new contract by Thursday night. The two have been locked in a standoff over distribution rights, with Fox insisting it receive a dollar per month per cable subscriber for access to its shows and live broadcast events, a number that Time Warner feels could create a difficult precedent for other stations. Prospects may be bleak for the two sides to reach an agreement before tonight’s midnight deadline and News Corp has refused an offer to enter arbitration. “At this time, it looks like we will not reach an agreement, and our channels may very well go off the air in Time Warner Cable systems,” News Corp. president Chase Carey told employees, according to The New York Times.
Fox News seems to think quite highly of themselves, don’t they?
Maybe they need that dollar per month per cable subscriber to keep their blonde bimbos in implants and make-up?
Or perhaps their male anchors need alot more of those little blue pills?
Seriously folks, I hope Time Warner crushes the little fox and the rest of his friends.
Hey Fnord, happy New Year to you and yours.
In the south, one simply MUST have three things on New Years Day. Number one is black eyed peas, meant to bring good luck. Number two is cabbage, meant to bring more money. Number three is pork because, wait for it… it’s supposed to bring you good health! I guess it was a tradition back when food in general and protein especially were in short supply.
Many of my pals used to make “hoppin’ John” which is kind of a stew of black eyed peas, bacon, onion, and cabbage. All the essential southern food groups in one dish. And it tastes good, especially with corn bread.
I saved the ham bone from the Christmas ham, and some ham meat, onions, garlic and bay leaf, and put them in the crock pot last night before I went to bed. I also washed, sorted and soaked some pinto beans and some black eyed peas overnight. This morning, I took the ham bone out, took the mean off of it, put the meat back in the crock with the broth, drained the soaking beans and put them in the crock, all to cook while I’m at work today. Cole slaw is chilling and I’ll make corn bread and sangria when I get home.
We’re having our New Years Day tonight!
I think you’re right Prairiepond – in the old days of the South, people were lucky to get a piece of pork meat.
My grandfather (who is not from the South, but grew up poor) used to eat pigs feet and fatback every day.
He dropped over and died from a heart attack at the age of 64 but his mother (who also ate fatback and pigs feet every day) lived to be 104!
So, is pork healthy for you? I guess it depends on the person’s genetic make-up and just pure luck (and that’s where the beans come into play?)
Black-Eyed Peas — A common good luck food in the southern United States, black-eyed peas are thought to bring prosperity, their shape and abundance representing coins. Hoppin’ John is the classic Southern New Year’s dish
I’ve got a question about this one – if black-eyed peas are such good luck and bring prosperity, then why do these people STILL live in the South?
Hoppin’ John is aptly named for all those angry white males – huh?
I’ve got a question about this one – if black-eyed peas are such good luck and bring prosperity, then why do these people STILL live in the South?
OUCH!!
I used to live in Tennessee and I know what the South can be like.
I posted a new diary to DailyKos this morning and was reminded about why I so rarely go there and stopped posting so long ago.
Apologists and non-rational thinkers and bullies. Sound familiar to anyone here? It is proven once again that conservatives and liberals have more in common than they have differences.
Insert eye roll here.
I was on Huffington Post blog about Rush Limbaugh and to my amazement, not alot of mean things are being said about Rush’s condition.
One die-hard right-winger posted that he/she was impressed with how many of the liberals were restrained in their comments.
As one poster put it – on the Fox news blog site, there are Cons wishing for Obama’s death every day but on the Huffington Post blog, there was no mention of wishing for Rush’s death.
Maybe that old adage is best – kill them with kindness?
One poster even wondered if Obama would be visiting Rush in the hospital. Now, that would be a great video. I bet Rush would turn a couple shades whiter and be yelling for a bedpan!
Rush is in the hospital? Damn, I’m missing all the good stuff!
My wish for rush is that it takes all his millions to address his health needs. Maybe even more than his millions and he needs to attempt setting up installment payments for the balance.
Maybe he won’t even be able to afford the pain meds (for his back pain ya know).
Karma would be if Rush is denied insurance coverage due to pre-existing conditions.
Sad to say but this is a fact. I have worked in health care for many, many years and I know for a fact that when the wealthy and celebrities go in to the hospital, they are usually NOT charged for any of their health care.
I know of one Tennessee hospital that sequestered one wing of the maternity ward when Garth Brook’s wife had their baby. They even remodeled the entire wing because she did not like the color. And all this was done with not one penny charged to them.
Some of these hospitals will do this for PR purposes – or do you think maybe it is more political if the wealthy celebrity happens to be a big mouth conservative right-wing talk show entertainer?
On another note – I worked for a wealthy neurosurgeon here in Wichita and when his father-in-law went in for surgery, rather than paying this man’s bill (which is what the average Joe would have to do), this wealthy doctor made a ‘contribution’ to the local Catholic Charity and like magic – that balance owed disappeared.
Of course, that contribution was tax-deductible for the good doc and that hospital bill balance would not have been because it was for his father-in-law and not him!
And then people wonder why I am so cynical.
(Knowledge + Experience) / Justice = Cynicism
There’s probably a major flaw in that equation since I just made it up. But it sounded right at the time.
My equation would be Knowledge+Experience=Cynicism.
Well, gee, now I know what DVD to pull out and watch tonight or tomorrow. 🙂 (Added bonus: Harrison Ford.)
I watched the second half of the HBO’s Rock & Rock Hall of Fame’s 25th anniversary last night. Parts of it were as good as parts of the first half, which I watched several weeks ago. Aretha Franklin was…pitiful, but why was Annie Lenox wearing an HIV Positive T-shirt? “The Boss” went on way too long. Can we say Springfield can’t sing? He can play the guitar. Simon & Garfunkel sang my favorite of their songs, The Boxer, along with Sounds of Silence and Bridge Over Troubled Water. There was a tribute to doo-wop and one to blues. Little Anthony and the Imperials can still sing!
Back to work for me…
I know we’re not in Kentucky, but…
And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it’s not because I’m lonely, and it’s not because it’s New Year’s Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.
Harry Burns
“When Harry Met Sally”
Well here it is the new year! Really it does not feel any different then the last year.
The youngest will leave Saturday to return to North Carolina and will leave in March for Germany.
The reality is not being lost on me, this maybe the last time I see him for at least four years.
Not much hope of us having the money to visit him in Germany or them making it back here.
I do not want Rush to die but I can not help the feeling that there are many who will not see it as a great lose.