Stocking Up:
The new year must not be seen in with bare cupboards,
lest that be the way of things for the year.
Larders must be topped up and plenty of money must be placed in
every wallet in the place to guarantee a prosperous year.

Paying Off Bills:
The new year should not be begun with the household in debt,
so checks should be written and mailed off prior to January 1st.
Likewise, personal debts should be settled before the New Year arrives.

First Footing:
The first person to enter your home after the stroke of midnight
will influence the year you're about to have.
Ideally, he should be dark-haired, tall, and good-looking,
and it would be even better if he came bearing certain small gifts
such as a lump of coal, a silver coin, a bit of bread,
a sprig of evergreen, and some salt. Blonde and redhead first footers
bring bad luck, and female first footers should be shooed away
before they bring disaster down on the household. Aim a gun at them
if you have to, but don't let them near your door before a man
crosses the threshold.

The first footer (sometimes called the "Lucky Bird") should knock
and be let in rather than just using a key. After greeting those in
the house and dropping off whatever small tokens of luck he has brought
with him, he should make his way through the house and leave by a
different door than the one through which he entered. No one should
leave the premises before the first footer arrives -- the first traffic
across the threshold must be headed in rather than striking out.
First footers must not be cross-eyed or have flat feet or
eyebrows that meet in the middle. Nothing prevents the cagey
householder from stationing a dark-haired man outside the home
just before midnight to ensure the speedy arrival of a suitable
first footer as soon as the chimes sound. If one of the partygoers
is recruited for this purpose, impress upon him the need to slip
out quietly just prior to the witching hour.

Nothing Goes Out:
Nothing -- absolutely nothing, not even garbage
is to leave the house on the first day of the year. If you've presents
to deliver on New Year's Day, leave them in the car overnight.
Don't so much as shake out a rug or take the empties to the recycle bin.
Some people soften this rule by saying it's okay to remove things from
the home on New Year's Day, provided that something else has been
brought in first. This is similar to the caution regarding first footers;
the year must begin with something's being added to the home before
anything subtracts from it.
One who lives alone might place a lucky item or two in a basket that
has a string tied to it, then place the basket just outside the
front door before midnight. After midnight, the lone celebrant hauls
in his catch, being careful to bring the item across the door jamb
by pulling the string rather than by reaching out to retrieve it
and thus breaking the plane of the threshold.

Black-Eyes Peas:
A tradition common to the southern states of the USA dictates that
the eating of black-eyed peas on New Year's Day will attract both
general good luck and money in particular to the one doing the dining.
Some choose to add other Southern fare to this tradition, but the
black-eyed peas are key.

Work:
Make sure to do -- and be successful at -- something related to your
work on the first day of the year, even if you don't go near your
place of employment that day. Limit your activity to a token amount,
though, because to engage in a serious work project
on that day is very unlucky.
Also, do not do the laundry on New Year's Day, lest a member of the
family be 'washed away' (die) in the upcoming months. The more cautious
do not even washing dishes!

New Clothes:
Wear something new on January 1 to increase the likelihood of your
receiving more new garments during the year to follow.

Money:
Do not pay back loans or lend money or other precious items on
New Year's Day. To do so is to guarantee you'll be paying out all year.

Breakage:
Avoid breaking things on that first day lest wreckage
be part of your year. Also, avoid crying on the first day of the year
lest that activity set the tone for the next twelve months.

Other superstitions attaching to the beginning of the new year are:
Letting the Old Year Out:
At midnight, all the doors of a house
must be opened to let the old year escape unimpeded. He must leave
before the New Year can come in, says popular wisdom, so doors are
flung open to assist him in finding his way out.

Loud Noise:
Make as much noise as possible at midnight. You're not just
celebrating; you're scaring away evil spirits,
so do a darned good job of it!
According to widespread superstition, evil spirits and the Devil
himself hate loud noise. We celebrate by making
as much of a din as possible not just as an expression of joy
at having a new year at our disposal, but also to make sure
Old Scratch and his minions don't stick around.
(Church bells are rung on a couple's wedding day for the same reason.)

The Weather:
Examine the weather in the early hours of New Year's Day.
If the wind blows from the south, there will be fine weather and
prosperous times in the year ahead. If it comes from the north,
it will be a year of bad weather. The wind blowing from the east
brings famine and calamities. Strangest of all, if the wind blows
from the west, the year will witness plentiful supplies of milk
and fish but will also see the death of a very important person.
If there's no wind at all, a joyful and prosperous year may be
expected by all.

Born On January 1:
Babies born on this day will always have luck on their side.