Happy New Year - Or Whatever (Sorta Long)

[Guest guest]

Hey y'all,

 

I'll be out of the net most of tomorrow and all of tomorrow night so

I'll now wish you all a Very Happy and Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

 

I have my Grandfather Frost (Ded Moroz) costume and my wife has her Snow

Maiden (Snegurochka) costume and after midnight tomorrow night we will

come into the room and stand by the Novogodnaya Yolka (Christmas/New

Year Tree) and ask each of the people present if they've been good the

past year, i.e., " Vy byli horoshim chelovekom eto v proshlom godu? " If

they say YES .. they get a gift .. but to get the gift, they must sing a

song or recite a Christmas poem or perform a few dance steps. If they

say NO .. they will get nothing .. I have been assured that nobody will

say NO. ;-)

 

There will be plenty of toasts .. Russians have no shortage of reasons

to toast. ;-) One favorite is, " My grandfather said: " I have a desire

to buy a house, but I have no capability to buy one. I have the

capability to buy a goat, but I have no desire " . So, let's drink to

having a correlation between our wishes and our capabilities! " ;-)

 

This particular New Year greeting is primarily for the English speakers.

If you are Japanese .. Happy Shogatsu and/or Happy Oshogatsu and I hope

your Bonenkai Party is a great success.

 

If you are Chinese or Vietnamese then my sincere apologies if you think

I would dare assume you are going to celebrate at 0001 hours on 31

December .. lemme just wish you an early Happy New Year cause you will

not welcome in the Year of the Dog till 29 January 2006.

 

In many Asian countries (Korea is an example) there are two different

New Year's days according to solar and lunar calendars .. so for some

Asians this New Year greeting will apply now.

 

In order to ensure nobody is offended I wish everyone a Very Happy Yuan

Tan, Hogmanay, Chaul Chnam Thmey, Nouruz, Tet Nguryen Dan, Festival of

St. Basil, Rosh Hashanah, Murharram, Ana Neuvo Feliz, Feliz Año Nuevo,

Sint Sylvester Vooranvond and Nieuwjaarsdag, Diwali, Nos Galan, Bonne

Année, Gutes Neues Jahr, Ugadi, Hau'oli Makahiki Hou and I better not

forget the transliteral Russian .. least I might have to hang more

drapes tonight .. S Novym Godom, pronounced SNO-vim GO-dahm and/or

Schastlivogo Novogo Goda, pronounced Shas-LEE-vah-vah NO-vah-vah GO-dah!

I can't produce Cyrillic letters cause my PC isn't set up for it. I

like the word Schastlivaya (from which Schastlivogo is derived) because

it means Happiness in Russian and it was my wife's maiden name. ;-)

 

Here's few others .. but not totally complete .. so my apologies to

anyone who was overlooked .. it was not intentional .. I am trying to be

a PC as possible. ;-) http://www.fathertimes.net/traditions.htm

 

Russians, Ukrainians, Belorussians and most of the ex-Soviet countries

will celebrate the New Year on 1 January .. and they also will refer to

it as the Year of the Dog. Some of them will also celebrate the Old New

Year on 13 January .. which according to the Julian calendar (used in

Russia before 1918) corresponds to 1 January. As I mentioned in another

post, The Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian and other Orthodox Churches, still

use the Julian calendar instead of the Gregorian calendar so they also

celebrate Christmas on 7 January.

 

If you are Tibetan or Bahá'í or Thai or Cambodian or Ethiopian or

Bengali or Neo-Pagan or Hindu of Sunni Moslem or Iranian .. my apologies

for not wishing you a Happy New Year last year and you can consider this

as my advanced good wishes for your coming New Year.

 

If you are Jewish .. wishing you an early (or maybe late) Happy Rosh

Hashanah.

 

If one is anti organized religion .. take heart .. New Year is not a

religious holiday .. its the oldest holiday still in existence .. it

came along afore any monotheistic religion. If one is anti official

holidays then blame the celebration on the ancient Babylonians cause

they started celebrating it around 4,000 years ago .. around 2,000 BC.

The Babylonian New Year began with the first visible crescent of the New

Moon, after the Vernal Equinox (or the first day of spring).

 

The ancient Romans observed the new year in late March, but their

calendar was continually tampered with by various emperors so it 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 Julian

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.

 

So January 1 had no astronomical or agricultural significance. It was

purely arbitrary .. but they had to start somewhere. ;-) 1 January is

now the first day of the year in the Gregorian calendar .. the calendar

used by most developed countries.

 

Then came organized religion .. the early Catholic Church condemned the

festivities as paganism. But as Christianity became more widespread,

the early church began having its own religious observances along 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.

 

The tradition of using a baby to signify the new year was begun in

Greece around 600 BC. Greek tradition at that time celebrated 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.

 

January 1 has been celebrated as a holiday by Western nations for only

about the past 400 years.

 

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. Probably for

that reason, the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year's Day will

bring good fortune.

 

Many parts of the U.S. (especially us Suthran folks) celebrate the new

year by eating black-eyed peas and either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed

peas have been considered good luck in many cultures. The hog meat is

considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity. Cabbage is another

" good luck " vegetable eaten on New Year's Day by many. Cabbage leaves

are also considered a sign of prosperity. In some regions, rice is a

lucky food eaten on New Year's Day. We will eat Black-eyed peas.

 

Folks in Venezuela wear yellow underwear on New Year Day .. its a good

luck charm.

 

Folks in Brazil jump seven ocean waves and in Rio de Janeiro they also

throw flowers into the water as an offering to the Goddess of the Seas.

 

Belgium farmers wish their animals a Happy New Year for blessings.

 

Mexicans and some other Spanish speaking peoples eat 12 grapes and make

12 wishes (one for each gong on the clock at midnight.) And if they're

looking for love, they wear red underwear.

 

Folks in Ecuador create a dummy and stuff it with old newspapers and

firecrackers. At midnight, they set the dummy on fire and as it goes up

in smoke, firecrackers go off and they say good bye to the old year.

 

In Lithuania, single women put 12 men's names on slips of paper, plus

one blank slip of paper under the pillow. When they wake up the next

morning, they select one of the slips of paper, which means that is the

person they will marry. That's gotta be tough on the guys.

 

Sicilians ring in the new year with a plate of lasagna for good luck.

 

In old England (still today?), the first visitor on New Year's Day will

bring you luck — good or bad.

 

Danes horde old plates to throw at friends' houses. They believe that

broken china means more friends.

 

In France they drink a good amount of champagne and holler a lot on New

Year's Eve, and for some French folks the new year officially begins by

eating king cake, " Galette des Rois, " on the holiday known as Epiphany,

which celebrates the arrival of the Three Kings to pay homage to Baby

Jesus, and falls on the first Sunday of January.

 

In Turkey (Turkiye), most people celebrate by having a New Year's dinner

with their family members and friends. The traditional food is turkey

(hindi kus). Many families have the traditional Christmas Tree (Noel

Ac). The TV channels present special entertainment programs. Each

channel tries to present the best program for New Year's Eve. This

Turkish celebration starts early in the evening and lasts till early

morning. For those who don't stay at home, all places (hotels, bars,

pansiyons, etc.,) are full, and you have to make reservations long in

advance if you want to celebrate.

 

In Japan, on New Year's Eve bells are rung 108 times to chase away 108

troubles. They laugh after the gongs because they believe that sharing a

chuckle will drive away bad spirits. I agree with them on that.

 

The Chinese eat dumplings the shape of ancient Chinese gold or silver

ingots. Everyone, even the kids, drinks a little liquor, which is a

symbol of longevity. People give each other red envelopes containing

money, a symbol of luck and wealth.

 

In the United States some folks who are not too drunk or have not

already been hauled off the the hoosegow cheer at the stroke of midnight

and its said that this is believed to ward off evil spirits .. but it

doesn't work very well. Chase the bad away and ring in the new is what

its all about. Kissing your loved one ensures that good times will

follow you and that person for the next 12 months. And even if it don't

work .. its still fun. ;-)

 

Obviously most all of the above was drawn from public education sources

on the Net .. I didn't have much of the knowledge on other countries

afore I researched it .. and I'm not quoting the references cause I

reworded the info. ;-)

 

Our Sincere Best Wishes to All for a Very Happy New Year .. and Nashi

Iskrenniye Nailuchshiye pozhelaniya ko Vsem dl'a Ochen' S Novym Godom.

 

May All of Your Dreams Come True in 2006 .. Maj Vse Vashi Mechty

Osuschestvl'ayets'a v 2006.

 

We Hope You and Yours Have Great Happiness and Good Health .. I My

Nadeyems'a, chto Vy i Vashi Imeyete Bol'shoye Schast'e i Horosheye

Zdorov'e.

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch & Tanya http://www.AV-AT.com

 

Wholesale/Retail GC Tested EO, Tested Hydrosols, Rose Products and other

nice things sent from our store in Friendsville, MD. Pop: 597

[Guest guest]

Probably for

that reason, the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year's Day will

bring good fortune.>

 

Donuts? Ah, he must mean apple fritters and something called

olie bollen, yeast-risen, deepfried concoctions only

served on Dec 31 and Jan 1.

 

I had no idea they had anything to do with Goof Fortune,

they were just there.

 

Hey, good enough.

 

Ien

 

 

[Guest guest]

>Our Sincere Best Wishes to All for a Very Happy New Year .. and Nashi

Iskrenniye Nailuchshiye pozhelaniya ko Vsem dl'a Ochen' S Novym Godom.

 

>May All of Your Dreams Come True in 2006 .. Maj Vse Vashi Mechty

Osuschestvl'ayets'a v 2006.

 

>We Hope You and Yours Have Great Happiness and Good Health .. I My

Nadeyems'a, chto Vy i Vashi Imeyete Bol'shoye Schast'e i Horosheye

Zdorov'e.

 

>Y'all keep smiling. :-) Butch & Tanya http://www.AV-AT.com

 

 

Happy New Years to everyone.

Lots of interesting info here. Thanks.

 

Best Wishes to you and Tanya

Nancy

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

>Our Sincere Best Wishes to All for a Very Happy New Year .. and Nashi

Iskrenniye Nailuchshiye pozhelaniya ko Vsem dl'a Ochen' S Novym Godom.

 

En Gelukkig Nieuw Jaar!

 

Ien