The New Year’s tradition in my house has been to open the back door at the stroke of midnight. Supposedly, that’s supposed to let out the bad vibes of the previous year. Then you close that door and open the front door to let in all the good promise of the coming year. We left the back door open a little longer than normal just to make sure no trace of 2020 was left to linger.
Superstitions may not actually work, but there is always a hope that the New Year is a better one than the previous year. For many in the meat processing industry, 2020 was a profitable year. Yes, there was a nightmare of a pandemic, the collapse of the foodservice industry, and the constant fear that a COVID outbreak may happen on the plant floor. However, there were also many new opportunities and new customers. Food processors never had to close or lay off employees. It left the industry in a relatively strong position.