Hope you enjoy this piece on NEW YEARS, it’s traditions/customs, food, superstitions and toasts. It also includes the history of New Years. Please add your own comments.
New Year’s Day is a national holiday celebrated on January 1st, the first day of the New Year, following both the Gregorian and the Julian calendar. This New Years’ holiday is often marked by fireworks, parades, and reflection upon the last year while looking ahead to the future’s possibilities. Many people celebrate New Year’s in the company of loved ones, involving traditions meant to bring luck and success in the upcoming year. Many Cultures celebrate this happy day in their own unique way. Typically the customs and traditions of happy New Years involve celebrating with champagne and a variety of different foods. New Years marks a date of newly found hapiness and a clean slate. For many celebrating New Years, it is their opportunity to learn from the prior year and make positive changes in their life.
New Year’s is one of the oldest holidays still celebrated, but the exact date and nature of the festivities has changed over time. It originated thousands of years ago in ancient Babylon, celebrated as an eleven day festival on the first day of spring. During this time, many cultures used the sun and moon cycle to decide the “first” day of the year. It wasn’t until Julius Caesar implemented the Julian calendar that January 1st became the common day for the celebration. The content of the festivities has varied as well. While early celebrations were more paganistic in nature, celebrating Earth’s cycles, Christian tradition celebrates the Feast of the Circumcision of Christ on New Year’s Day. Roman Catholics also often celebrate Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, a feast honoring Mary. However, in the twentieth century, the holiday grew into its own celebration and mostly separated from the common association with religion. It has become a holiday associated with nationality, relationships, and introspection rather than a religious celebration, although many people do still follow older traditions. Despite these so called “Facts” on the history of New Years, we also have that “other” history which of course deals with the Middle East.
The celebration of the new year on January 1st is a relatively new phenomenon. The earliest recording of a new year celebration is believed to have been in Mesopotamia, c. 2000 B.C. and was celebrated around the time of the vernal equinox, in mid-March. A variety of other dates tied to the seasons were also used by various ancient cultures. The Egyptians, Phoenicians, and Persians began their new year with the fall equinox, and the Greeks celebrated it on the winter solstice.
While celebration varies all over the world, common traditions include:
This especially includes circle-shaped foods, which symbolize cycles. The reasoning behind superstitions is that the first day of the year sets precedent for the following days.
A common superstition specific to New Year’s Day concerns a household’s first visitor of the year—tradition states that if a tall, dark-haired stranger is the first to walk through your door, called the First Footer or Lucky Bird, you’ll have good luck all year.
Also, if you want to subscribe to superstition, don’t let anything leave the house on New Year’s, except for people. Tradition say’s: don’t take out the trash and leave anything you want to take out of the house on New Year’s outside the night before. If you must remove something, make sure to replace it by bringing an item into the house. These policies of balance apply in other areas as well—avoiding paying bills; IF ONLY THAT WHERE TRUE on SUNDAYS TOO, when we begin a new week :) , breaking anything, or shedding tears.
Toasts typically concern gratefulness for the past year’s blessings, hope and luck or the future, and thanking guests for their New Year’s company. In coastal regions, running into a body of water or splashing water on one another, symbolizing the cleansing, “rebirth” theme associated with the holiday.
American Citizens often celebrate with a party featuring toasting, drinking and fireworks late into the night before the New Year, where the gathering counts down the final seconds to January 1st. Some might even get a kiss at midnight. Many English speaking countries play “Auld Lang Syne,” a song celebrating the year’s happy moments.
Americans often make resolutions and watch the Time Square Ball drop in New York City. Although much of this celebration occurs the night before, the merrymaking typically continues to New Year’s Day. Football is a common fixture on New Year’s Day in America, usually the day of the Rose Bowl. Some foods considered “lucky” to eat during the festivities include:
Circular shaped foods
Black-eyed peas
Cabbage
Pork
***Go figure those foods are something I would AVOID on any day of the week, and definitely not New Years. My lucky foods are; Doritos, Chex Snack Mix, White Cheddar popcorn.
It seems like America forgot our observance day, due to all the distraction of the terrorism shootings in California. We can’t forget those that fought and lost their lives!
National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, which is annually on December 7, commemorates the attack on Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii, during World War II. Many American service men and women lost their lives or were injured on December 7, 1941. National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is also referred to as Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day or Pearl Harbor Day.
On the direction of the President, the flag of the United States of America should be displayed on the homes of Americans, the White House and all United States government buildings. The flag should be flown at half-mast to honor those who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Many associations, especially those linked with Pearl Harbor survivors or those who died from the attack, participate in special services to commemorate the event. Memorial services are held at venues such as the USSArizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor. Other activities include: wreath-laying ceremonies; keynote speeches by those associated with the event; luncheons; media stories on survivors’ recollections of the Pearl Harbor attack; and school activities to educate students about the attack on Pearl Harbor in relation to World War II history.
Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day is not a federal holiday. Government offices, schools, businesses and other organizations do not close. Public transit systems run on their regular schedules. Some organizations may hold special events in memory of those killed or injured in Pearl Harbor.
On Sunday morning, December 7, 1941, the American Army and Navy base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii was attacked by the Imperial Japanese Navy. The attack came as a surprise to the American Army and Navy and lead to great losses of life and equipment. More than 2000 American citizens were killed and more than 1000 were injured. The Americans also lost a large proportion of their battle ships and nearly 200 aircraft that were stationed in the Pacific region. More than 60 Japanese servicemen were killed, injured or captured. The Japanese Navy also lost five midget submarines and 29 aircraft.
The Japanese military had hoped that the attack on Pearl Harbor would prevent the United States of America from increasing her influence in the Pacific. However, the events in Pearl Harbor actually led to the escalation of World War II. The day after the attack, the United States declared war on Japan and so entered World War II. President Franklin Roosevelt in a speech to Congress stated that the bombing of Pearl Harbor was “a date which will live in infamy”. Shortly afterwards, Germany also declared war on the United States. In the months that followed the attack, the slogan “Remember Pearl Harbor” swept the United States and radio stations repeatedly played a song of the same name.
In 1991, which marked the 50th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Congress established the Pearl Harbor Commemorative Medal. This is also known as the Pearl Harbor Survivor’s Medal and can be awarded to any veteran of the United States military who were present in or around Pearl Harbor during the attack by the Japanese military. The medal can be awarded to civilians, who were killed or injured in the attack.
Memorials have been built to remember or to symbolize the day. For example, the USS ArizonaMemorial in Pearl Harbor is a marble memorial built over the sunken USS Arizona, which was dedicated in 1962. The memorial remembers all military personnel who were killed in the Pearl Harbor attack. The memorial was designed by architect Alfred Preis, an Austrian-born resident who lived in Honolulu and was placed at a detainment camp after the Pearl Harbor attack as part of the internment policy of Japanese and German Americans at the time.
Another memorial that commemorates Pearl Harbor Day is the USS Utah, a battleship that was attacked and sunk in Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. A memorial to honor the crew of the USSUtah was dedicated on the northwest shore of Ford Island, near the ship’s wreck, in 1972. The ship was added to the National Register of Historic Places and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989. It is also Utah’s official state ship. Memorabilia, books, and movies about the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 have also been made available to the public over the years.
I just watched American Sniper and OMG, there are such blatant issues that ANYONE SHOULD SEE.
1. First- WHY DO WE ALWAYS GET INVOLVED with other countries problems and think we have to send OUR BOYS/MEN IN to get killed in wars we even aren’t involved in the first place.
2. We send our people in to fight wars, they come back disabled, and PTSD and they act in ways never before seen to them or their families. We destroy people,, kids, and lives of families all FOR NOTHING!!!
I’m sorry I was in the Middle East and unless you’re a child that WAS JUST BORN that day, you’re not innocent. These children are being trained as soon as their able to walk and their trained to kill AMERICANS!!! There are no innocent bystanders. This movie will show you just that. There are mothers who give their children bombs to go and become a suicide bomber and their goal is to kill Americans!
3. WHY THE HELL don’t we just BOMB the fricking areas that these so called insurgents were congregated in. Instead we send in our troops in to walk around in these towns where there are snipers kids with RPG’s, and IED’s to blow up our Hummers that have disabled so many vets if not killed them., so our troops get killed and disabled one at a time, when we could have just put in an airstrike and bombed the entire town.
It would save our guys/gals lives.
4. People bitch about money that it costs to go to war, well people it also cost money for health care and mental health care for our soldiers when they return from these wars and usually the treatment is for life, not just for a set amount of time. And what’s worse are some Vets are being turned away for treatment due to funding. How DARE WE TREAT the people who are willing to die for us like that!!!
5. We know exact locations of these clusters of terrorist/insurgents why don’t we just BOMB these areas or screw it bomb the whole fricking country to save our people. If you can’t do this then either STAY OUT OF other countries wars and take care of our own. We were not involved personally in Viet Nam, Korea or the Middle East, our country was not threatened, yet our presidents seem to think that we need to be the ultimate “SAVIORS” for others.
6. We are not a land of freedom but rather a CONTROLLED DEMOCRACY. This country’s leaders don’t listen to the people or take care of their own. There are WAY TOO MANY HUMAN rights issues that are preventing us from just going in and ending a war within a few months by bombing places and taking out those that threaten us. Or better yet why don’t our government just keep their noses out of other countries businesses.
Sure we just got “same sex marriages approved” WHAT WAS THIS MORE IMPORTANT THAN KEEPING OUR SOLDIERS SAFE. A lot of money was put into this issue and I wonder where the hell the priorities in this government are.
We have hundreds of soldiers dying monthly and we put our priority into this. I’m sorry this sounds so caustic and overbearing on behalf of some peoples ideals but it’s my opinion and I’m allowed to express it……Wait Mr. President and others in government “AM I ALLOWED to EXPRESS THIS???? God knows I was supposedly NOT allowed to come back to the USA and tell my story of what happened to me and others in Iran, since they made me sign a non-disclosure agreement. So I was just checking? Oh HELL I’m SAYING IT ANYWAY!!
If anyone is interested in what happened to me in Iran they can go tohttp://www.loris-song.com ALL PROFITS go to CHARITY! So this is not a promotional post, but it is a READ THIS AND SHARE THE INFORMATION POST! TYVM for listening and hopefully commenting.
Americans across our nation will pause tomorrow to observe Memorial Day. Since it’s first official observation on May 5th 1868, when it was called Decoration Day, it has been a day of remembrance for those who sacrificed and died in our nations wars and in service And while it was originally dedicated to honor Civil War service men, today we use it as a celebration to honor ALL THOSE MEN AND WOMEN who have fought for our freedom.
To those who died securing peace and freedom; To those who served in conflict to protect our land, and sacrificed their dreams of the day to preserve the hope of our nation keeping America the land of the free for over two centuries we owe our thanks and our honor. It is important to not only recognize their service but to respect their devotion to duty and to ensure that the purpose for which they fought will never be forgotten!
In today’s world where there are SO MANY soldiers dying in conflict in the Middle East It is important to realize what these soldiers endure. These wars are especially important to preserve our freedom and protect American citizens from harm from BOMBINGS, etal. Although in my personal opinion I think we should have just bombed certain areas and got rid of the terrorist all at once. Go bomb everywhere then we can relax, (JK)
I know only too well what our soldiers face in the Middle East. While I was not in the military I did live in Iran for four years where I was treated like a dog, and slapped if I walked too close to my husband. I witnessed women getting hung , and almost met my own death in a POW type camp the day after 9/11. So if these “monsters” treat their own people like this then just imagine what our soldiers go through being seen as the ULTIMATE ENEMY in the Middle East.
I guess on this day I’m saying “SALUTE” to all of you brave individuals, I only wish you well and pray to protect your lives. I cannot say enough how thankful I am that you fight so hard for people in America that you don’t even know, and uphold our values, morality and life.
I think we all should take a good long look at the sacrifices these soldiers make and if you see one, salute them and thank them for protecting us. GOD BLESS!!
"Lori's Song" 