The New Year is almost upon us. We welcome 2011 and all the wonderful blessings you may have in store for us!
Did you know:
· The Catholic Church denounced any New Year's celebrations as paganism. Ironically, as Christianity rolled through the world, the Catholic community devised other types of celebrations for the "Feast of Christ's Circumcision," which is observed the same as New Year's Eve and Day.
· Black-eyed peas (usually with ham) are often consumed in certain parts of the United States. These are thought to bring good fortune in cultures around the world, not just in the U.S.
· Other foods that are eaten on New Year's Eve are cabbage because the leaves represent prosperity. Ham (or a hog) also symbolizes prosperity. In Asian cultures, rice is a hearty and lucky staple that is eaten around midnight to signify the coming year of fortune.
· Auld Lang Syne is sung at midnight to toast in the New Year. The song was composed by Robert Burns sometimes in the 1700's. The term means "old long ago" or "the good old days."
· December 31, 1907 saw the first ball lowering in Times Square.
· Stats of the first New York ball: 700 pounds; 5 feet in diameter. The ball was made from wood and iron.
· The modern ball that is dropped is made from Waterford Crystal and weights over 1,000 pounds. There are over 9,000 LED lights, but uses hardly any energy. The ball begins to drop at 11:59 and completes the journey exactly at midnight to ring in the New Year.
· The ball was not lowered in 1942 and 1943 due to wartime restrictions.
· On New Year's Eve, about 75% of American Parties are with 20 people or less.
· The tradition of setting a New Year's resolution dates back to the early Babylonians. The popular modern resolutions include weight loss or to quit smoking. The early Babylonian's most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment.
· The tradition to use a baby to signify the new year was begun in Greece around 600 BC. It was their tradition at that time to celebrate their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket to represent the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility.
· Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolizes "coming full circle." For that reason, the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year's Day will bring good fortune.
· It was once believed that the first visitor on New Year's Day would bring either good luck or bad luck for the rest of the year. It was particularly lucky if that visitor happened to be a tall dark-haired man.
We hope that you all had safe and wonderful holidays!
