Delaware beaches full of New Year's Day traditions

For many, New Year’s Day is, basically, a time to recuperate from the revelry — and excesses — of the night before.

But the first day of a new year also is a time to revisit traditions, whether that means eating black-eyed peas, visiting family, recovering from an overindulgent celebration or taking a dip in the chilly Atlantic Ocean.

“New Year’s Day always signifies a new beginning, a new start,” said Kelly Ranieri, executive director of the Dewey Business Partnership, sponsor of the “Dewey Dunk,” a Jan. 1 ocean plunge.

And, throughout southern Delaware, the traditions vary.

For some, New Year’s Day means parades and non-stop college football, for others it is a day to consider resolutions to improve personal wellness for the coming year, like dieting or exercise.

And one symbolic method of greeting the new year is to take a chilly dip in the ocean at an organized event like the Dewey Dunk.

Or Bethany’s “Hair of the Dog”, which combines a 5K/10K run with an ocean plunge.

Ranieri said the reasons for participating in the chilly dip are varied.

For some, the ocean swim is a symbolic cleansing, a way to start the year on a good note. Others see it merely as a great opportunity to blunt the effects of a bad hangover.

“There are practical reasons and there are spiritual reasons for doing it,” Ranieri said.

But traditions go beyond a frigid encounter with the Atlantic or a day in front of a television.

And those traditions involve eating.

For generations, it has been considered good luck to eat black-eyed peas, pork, or any form of “circular food” like cake, bagels, doughnuts or pastries on New Year’s Day.

And, for many, New Year’s Day always includes food.

“We have a family tradition of eating a bowl of black-eyed peas because they are supposed to bring you good luck,” said Russ McCabe, retired state archivist.

State Rep. Ruth Briggs King dines on a black-eyed pea soup and serves tea with a matching set that was a gift of the Taiwanese government.

The bonus: Each individual tea cup has a separate message inscribed which King said is a personal “wish” for the new year.

Mike Clampitt, owner of Po’ Boys Creole & Fresh Catch restaurant in Milton, will close for New Year’s Day.

At home with his family, “I make black-eyed peas for good luck,” Clampitt said.

Jim Blackwell, curator of the Seaford Museum, said his wife, Shirley, always went to her mother’s house for a lunch that included black-eyed peas. It was a tradition, Blackwell said, “that had continued for at least 100 years” through several generations.

Even long after his mother-in-law passed away, Blackwell said Shirley still continues the culinary tradition.

“On some New Year’s Days, I still wake up a little later than usual if the night before had been a long one, to the smell of black-eye peas cooking on the stove in the kitchen,” said Blackwell.

Georgetown attorney Everett Moore said his family always gathers for a meal that includes black-eyed peas and biscuits.

The other tradition is one that involves the long-held belief that the first male visitor on New Year’s Day brought good fortune for the family.

“My father-in-law would always get up early and visit all his relatives for good luck,” Moore said.

And then there are traditions that don’t involve food or swimming.

Rehoboth Beach Mayor Paul Kuhns said the days after a hectic Christmas mean time for relaxing. On New Year’s Day “we try to get together with local family members and friends,” Kuhns said.

Lewes Mayor Ted Becker likes the clean slate of a new year.

“The new year always means a good opportunity to start fresh on projects that did not make it to completion in the previous year,” he said. 

Ocean View Mayor Walter Curran, an accomplished fiction writer with a sense of humor, said he starts the new year “by setting the alarm for noon, (taking) six aspirin and a large glass of orange juice followed by four hours of repeating the mantra ‘never again.’ ”

Ptery Iris, of Lewes, likes to start the new year with outdoor exercise.

“My favorite new routine is to do a first day hike in one of America's state parks,” she said. “It is a great way to start the year off.”

Hiking destination this year? “Haven’t decided yet but Trap Pond or Brandywine are tops on my list,” she said.

Dean and Sharon Hoover, of Lewes, vary their activities. One year, according to Sharon, the whole family wrote resolutions then placed them in a hat for someone to choose.

“You were supposed to do the resolution you picked, one you did not write,” said Sharon Hoover.

For some, recently relocating to Delaware offered an opportunity to establish new traditions.

“Our new tradition is writing gratefulness notes to friends and family on New Year’s Day,” said Joyce Calamia who, with husband Ben, recently retired to Lewes.

Added Calamia: “As we begin to lose folks dear to us, a gratefulness note is a way of thanking loved ones for making a difference in our lives.”

Meg and Lion Gardner, co-owners of the Blue Moon restaurant in Rehoboth Beach, have a different tradition.

After surviving a hectic Christmas and New Year’s Eve at the popular restaurant, they shut down early on Jan. 1 so they can have a party with the staff, complete with entertainment.

Meg Gardner said that Chef Lion makes snacks from the kitchen leftovers, “sort of like the show ‘Chopped’ on the Food Network.”

Gluttony is encouraged.

“We shut down on the second (of January) until Valentine’s Day and all of the perishable products need to be used prior to shutting down,” she said.

“That closing party is always a fun, energetic night,” Gardner said.

But regardless of the way people spend New Year’s Day, it is hard to escape the significance of a brand new year.

“It is always a time for reflection as well as celebration,” said writer Taylor Addison.