“I don’t believe the superstition that it brings good luck, but I eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day. It’s tradition for my family,” my yoga instructor said. “What do you eat?”

(Keep scrolling for the video version of this post.)

I’d been balancing on one leg but her question took me by surprise and I landed on the floor. “Food for good luck? People do that?”

Needless to say, my Amish family and community didn’t celebrate New Year’s Day with . . .

. . . special di...