New Year, new joy: St. Jude families ring in the new year with their favorite traditions.

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Every New Year, around midnight, Luis Martin’s mom, Brenda, has been known to carry a suitcase outside her home in Nicaragua and sit on it, symbolizing her hope of traveling in the coming year.

In Texas, Lizzie brings in the Lunar New Year wearing an áo dài, a long Vietnamese national dress while she and her family attend different parties.  

Romeo and his mom, Allison, celebrate New Year’s Eve at home in Missouri. Closer to midnight, they play cards and talk about their New Year’s resolutions. 

New Year's is a time for celebration and tradition, with people across the globe engaging in different rituals to usher in a prosperous year. No matter what the tradition, for these families, whose children are patients of St. Jude Children Research Hospital®, there is an added element of happiness and appreciation for another year, especially after enduring serious illnesses.  

Romeo was diagnosed with an ependymoma, a rare brain tumor, and arrived at St. Jude in 2024. Just a few months earlier, on New Year's Eve, he and his mom continued their tradition of answering three resolution questions: How can he improve himself? How can he be more helpful? What new experiences does he want in the New Year?

Romeo, who can be a picky eater, resolved that in 2024, he was going to try new foods. At Kay Kafe on the St. Jude campus, he was able to keep his resolution, his mom said. While in treatment in Memphis, Romeo ate white cheddar cheese and penne pasta, foods he had not eaten before.   

“He would only eat spaghetti noodles,” his mom said. 

Luis Martin was referred to St. Jude in the summer of 2023 after he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a bone cancer. He and his mom are hopeful that 2025 will be the year they go back to Central America and are reunited with his two brothers and dad. Brenda said she hopes to resume her New Year’s tradition of being with loved ones and carrying a suitcase, even if she’s the only one that does it in her family. 

“They just laugh at me,” she said. 

Lizzie, who was referred to St. Jude for treatment for a brain tumor, and her mom, Mary, are eagerly anticipating spending quality time with their immediate and extended family, while embracing the cherished New Year’s traditions of their Asian heritage, including the traditional lion dance in which performers wear lion costumes and move like the big cats.  

“The parties have lion dances, lots of music and food,” Mary said. “They are often held at Asian markets, but sometimes also in temples.”