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How To Start 2024 On A Good Note
The Natural History Museum's newest exhibition, L.A. Underwater, explores the region when it was submerged about 15 million years ago.
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Courtesy of the Natural History Museum of L.A. County
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It’s finally that time of the year when people start doing family traditions and making resolutions: a brand new year. Whether you’re ready for 2024 to start, or you wish you had a few extra days, it’s coming quickly. The How To LA team is full of people who come from different cultures and backgrounds.
Some members of the team share a few traditions and tips for starting off 2024 on a good foot.
Packing a suitcase
Brian De Los Santos, host
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Tradition: “A lot of Latino families pack up a suitcase before the clock strikes 12,” Brian says. “As soon as it becomes midnight, you're supposed to run around the house at certain times that you want to travel throughout the year.”
Tip: “In the new year, I want to visit all of the L.A. County museums,” Brian says. “I found out through my reporting this year that there's a lot more to discover with museums. I'm going to try to hit up the Science Center, LACMA, again, and just other things I haven't done in years.
Exposition Park is filled with many community assets, from the California African American Museum to the Banc of California Stadium. Soon, it will be home to the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art as well.
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Carla Javier
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LAist
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Mopping out bad vibes
Victoria Alejandro, producer
Tradition: "I’m Puerto Rican,” Victoria says. “Every year on New Year's Eve my dad would mop the whole house and when the clock strikes midnight, you throw the dirty water out of the front door. And that represents getting rid of all of your negative energy from last year, and starting the year with a clean house and clean energy. So I think I'm going to do that this year, just get my apartment in order.”
Tip: “In the new year, I really want to spend more time downtown,” Victoria adds. “I found out recently that there are these free workshops at the Central Library downtown. And they like poetry and fiction and all of these like different arts. I want to take a workshop and just be in the community.”
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Downtown L.A.'s Central Library.
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Wikimedia Commons
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Black Eyed Peas' good luck
Aaricka Washington, associate editor
Tradition: “I like to go over to a family member’s house because someone is definitely cooking Black Eyed Peas for good luck and collard greens to bring in more money either on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day,” Aaricka says. “It's a tradition rooted in the south. And as we know, a lot of Black Americans came from the South to the North and West, through the great migration and brought their traditions with them.”
Tip: “I’m going to do a physical and mental challenge called the 75 Hard starting on January 1st. There’s five daily tasks that you have to do for 75 days. I’m not recommending it because it’s not for everyone. It’s something I am personally doing. However, I think you should do whatever you feel like will be intentional for you to become the best version of yourself.”
Aaricka Washington, How To LA's associate editor, runs with Girl Gang Crazy on March 7, 2023 at Santa Monica College's Corsair Field.
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Raymond Eugenio
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Girl Gang Crazy
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12 grapes
Tony Morales, intern
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Tradition: “My family eats grapes once midnight hits,” Tony says. “It’s 12 grapes each for a wish. So you're wishing for something for each grape. But leading up to New Year's when my family likes to do karaoke, you know, bringing that positive lively energy into the new year.”
Tip: "And in this new year, I would like to go biking more," Tony says. “I live in Huntington Park right there down in Florence. They're building a lot of new bike lanes, which is interesting, because the lanes are already really small. I want to use them and really explore the city with bikes."
Man rides bike down Western Ave for CicLAvia
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Ashley Balderrama for LAist
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To-do lists
Megan Botel, producer
Tip: “I see the new year as kind of a more dramatic version of the way I get when I start a new week or a new month and just really have things in order, meaning tie up all my loose ends,” Megan says. “I have a to-do list of stuff I don't want to do this week. I put in shelves. So I have like three or four more of those tasks that I plan to get done in the next couple of weeks. I just like to start the new year off clean, bright and calm. The way you start your year I think is like the way your year will go.”
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Professional janitor cleaning parquet floor with mop indoors, closeup.
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Liudmila Chernetska
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Getty Images/iStockphoto
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Speaking of Zen, in this episode, you can learn more about how to practice calmness with a walking meditation. Listen to the latest How To LA podcast episode for more.
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