Re: SO WHAT~ABOUT THE HAPPY NEW YEAR?

[Guest guest]

Dear ,

As always you have entertained and educated me, my dear!

This is a great post, it basically taught me the many, many

traditions of the world and was such a great experience to read! I

honestly did not know a lot of the history behind New Year's day and

this is something I will share with many! Thank you, dear one! You

are awesome! Love and light, Luna

--- In , " karmarqu69 " <karmarqu69@...>

wrote:

>

>

> [Happy New year]

>

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>

> There are 4.6 days until 2008!

> It's Another New Year...

>

> ...But for what reason?

>

> " Happy New Year! " That greeting will be said and heard for at least

the

> first couple of weeks as a new year gets under way.

>

> But the day celebrated as New Year's Day in modern America was not

> always January 1.

>

> ANCIENT NEW YEARS

>

> The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays. It

was

> first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago.

>

> In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the

> first New Moon (actually the first visible cresent) after the Vernal

> Equinox (first day of spring).

>

> The beginning of spring is a logical time to start a new year. After

> all, it is the season of rebirth, of planting new crops, and of

> blossoming.

>

> January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural

> significance. It is purely arbitrary.

>

> The Babylonian new year celebration lasted for eleven days.

>

> Each day had its own particular mode of celebration, but it is safe

to

> say that modern New Year's Eve festivities pale in comparison.

>

> The Romans continued to observe the new year in late March, but

their

> calendar was continually tampered with by various emperors so that

the

> calendar soon became out of synchronization with the sun.

>

> In order to set the calendar right, the Roman senate, in 153 BC,

> declared January 1 to be the beginning of the new year.

>

> But tampering continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established

what

> has come to be known as the n Calendar.

>

> It again established January 1 as the new year.

>

> But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had

to let

> the previous year drag on for 445 days.

>

> THE CHURCH'S VIEW OF NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS

>

> Although in the first centuries AD the Romans continued celebrating

the

> new year, the early Catholic Church condemned the festivities as

> paganism.

>

> But as Christianity became more widespread, the early church began

> having its own religious observances concurrently with many of the

pagan

> celebrations, and New Year's Day was no different.

>

> New Years is still observed as the Feast of Christ's Circumcision by

> some denominations.

>

> During the Middle Ages, the Church remained opposed to celebrating

New

> Years. January 1 has been celebrated as a holiday by Western

nations for

> only about the past 400 years.

>

> NEW YEAR TRADITIONS

>

> Other traditions of the season include the making of New Year's

> resolutions.

>

> That tradition also dates back to the early Babylonians.

>

> Popular modern resolutions might include the promise to lose weight

or

> quit smoking. The early Babylonian's most popular resolution was to

> return borrowed farm equipment.

>

> The Tournament of Roses Parade dates back to 1886. In that year,

members

> of the Valley Hunt Club decorated their carriages with flowers.

>

> It celebrated the ripening of the orange crop in California.

>

> Although the Rose Bowl football game was first played as a part of

the

> Tournament of Roses in 1902, it was replaced by Roman chariot races

the

> following year. In 1916, the football game returned as the sports

> centerpiece of the festival.

>

> The tradition of using 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, representing the

annual

> rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility.

>

> Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth.

>

> Although the early Christians denounced the practice as pagan, the

> popularity of the baby as a symbol of rebirth forced the Church to

> reevaluate its position.

>

> The Church finally allowed its members to celebrate the new year

with a

> baby, which was to symbolize the birth of the baby Jesus.

>

> [New Years Baby]

>

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> The use of an image of a baby with a New Years banner as a symbolic

> representation of the new year was brought to early America by the

> Germans. They had used the effigy since the fourteenth century.

>

> FOR LUCK IN THE NEW YEAR

>

> Traditionally, it was thought that one could affect the luck they

would

> have throughout the coming year by what they did or ate on the

first day

> of the year.

>

> For that reason, it has become common for folks to celebrate the

first

> few minutes of a brand new year in the company of family and

friends.

>

> [Fireworks]

>

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> Parties often last into the middle of the night after the ringing

in of

> a new year. It was once believed that the first visitor on New

Year's

> Day would bring either good luck or bad luck the rest of the year.

It

> was particularly lucky if that visitor happened to be a tall dark-

haired

> man.

>

> Traditional New Year foods are also thought to bring luck.

>

> Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good

luck,

> because it symbolizes " coming full circle, " completing a year's

cycle.

>

> For that reason, the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year's

Day

> will bring good fortune.

>

> Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the new year by consuming black-

eyed

> peas. These legumes are typically accompanied by either hog jowls or

> ham. Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good

luck in

> many cultures.

>

> The hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it

symbolizes

> prosperity. Cabbage is another " good luck " vegetable that is

consumed on

> New Year's Day by many.

>

> Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being

> representative of paper currency. In some regions, rice is a lucky

food

> that is eaten on New Year's Day.

>

>

>

> AULD LANG SYNE

>

> The song, " Auld Lang Syne, " playing in the background, is sung at

the

> stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the

world

> to bring in the new year.

>

> At least partially written by Burns in the 1700's, it was

first

> published in 1796 after Burns' death.

>

> Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired

Burns

> to produce the modern rendition.

>

> An old Scotch tune, " Auld Lang Syne " literally means " old long

ago, " or

> simply, " the good old days.

>

> Auld Lang Syne

>

> Should auld acquaintance be forgot

> and never brought to mind?

> Should auld acquaintance be forgot

> and days of auld lang syne?

> For auld lang syne, my dear,

> for auld lang syne,

> we'll take a cup of kindness yet,

> for auld lang syne.

>

> Should auld acquaintance be forgot

> and never brought to mind?

> Should auld acquaintance be forgot

> and days of auld lang syne?

> And here's a hand, my trusty friend

> And gie's a hand o' thine

> We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet

> For auld lang syne

> [Happy New Year]

>

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>

>

>

> Love~All~Ways

> *~Karma*

>

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