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Why “Happy New Year” Has a Hidden Meaning Different from What You Think

Celebrating tradition with a mouth full of meaning

Toya Qualls-Barnette
The Heritage Pub
5 min readJan 7, 2025

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Beautiful woman holding a happy new year placard and glass of champagne
Photo by Pavel Danilyuk: (pexels)

From the southern roots of my grandmother blossomed a variety of cropped superstitions to keep the kids in line — some would make us laugh, and tilt our youthful heads, and others became self-explanatory later in life.

The woman had a saying for everything, bless her heart. My cousins and I still recite a few of her quips, appreciating the wisdom withstanding the test of time.

At the beginning of each new year, her melodious lilt echoes through the chambers of my mind; what you do on New Year’s Day, you’ll be doing the rest of the year.

This year, in one way, I hope not, in another — I’m hopeful.

If nothing else, it’s a call to be mindful of our thoughts, purpose, and actions when blessed with a new year. Our ancestors had no choice; they were told what to think, what to do, where to go, and their sole purpose — to build the economic foundation of America through free labor.

Behind the saying lurks a dark history.

New Year’s Day in the 1800s was the most dreaded day of the year for slaves because slave owners might split them up. Dole them out to new owners. There was nothing celebratory…

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The Heritage Pub
The Heritage Pub

Published in The Heritage Pub

Where Stories of Family History, Traditions, and Cultural Identity Come to Life

Toya Qualls-Barnette
Toya Qualls-Barnette

Written by Toya Qualls-Barnette

Writing about the impact of relationships |Contributor to Chicken Soup for the Soul| Dreamer | Mother| HSP in drag

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