Free Web Hosting : Election 2008 : Free Hosting : Troubled Teens : Web Site

To leave the old with a burst of song;
To recall the right and forgive the wrong;
To forget the things that bind you fast
To the vain regrets of the year that's past;
To have the strength to let go your hold
Of the not worth while of the days grown old;
To dare go forth with a purpose true,
To the unknown task of the year that's new;
To help your brother along the road,
To do his work and lift his load;'
To add your gift to the world's good cheer,
Is to have and to give a Happy New Year.

Author Unknown


Well, here we are...the end of another year. I've given up on resolutions....I never keep them anyway lol. I do have a lot to look forward to though. My grandson will be celebrating his first birthday, my granddaughter will be four (won't tell you how old I'll be lol), I have a promotion pending at work and a few other things. It looks like it will be a good year.

One of the things I like to do is explore history and legends of holidays and other things. So, let's get on with it and I hope you enjoy your stay.

New Year is actually the oldest of all holidays, but it wasn't always celebrated on January 1. Babylonians first celebrated the beginning of the new year about 4000 years ago around 2000 BC. The Babylonians marked the New Year beginning with spring and the planting of crops. Their celebrations usually continued for eleven days.

In ancient Egypt, the New Year was celebrated when the River Nile flooded, which was near the end of September. The flooding of the Nile was very important because without it, the people would not have been able to grow crops in the dry desert. At New Year, statues of the god, Amon and his wife and son were taken up the Nile by boat. Singing, dancing, and feasting was done for a month, and then the statues were taken back to the temple.

For a long time the Romans celebrated New Year on the first of March. Then, in 46 BC, the Emperor Julius Caesar began a new calendar. It was the calendar that we still use today, and so the New Year date was changed to the first day of January. January is named after the Roman god Janus, who was always shown as having two heads. He looked back to the last year and forward to the new one.

The Roman New Year festival was called the Calends, and people decorated their homes and gave each other gifts. Slaves and their masters ate and drank together, and people could do what they wanted to for a few days.


The idea of making a lot noise was to drive away the evil spirits who flocked to the living during this season. This is why at the stroke of midnight we hear the sounds of sirens, car horns, boat whistles, party horns, church bells, drums and any other noise we can produce.

Other traditions of the season include the making of New Year's resolutions. That tradition also dates back to the early Babylonians. Modern resolutions include the promise to lose weight or to quit smoking. The early Babylonian's most popular resolution was returning 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.

The tradition of using a baby to signify the new year began in Greece around 600 BC. It was their tradition to celebrate their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket which represented the annual rebirth of the 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 symbolized the birth of the baby Jesus.


http://www.madd.org

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE

Every year during the months of November and December, MADD (Mothers Against Driving Drunk) conducts a "Tie One On For Safety" ribbon campaign. This is the biggest public awareness campaign asking motorists to tie a red MADD ribbon to their cars as a pledge to drive sober and save and a reminder for others to do the same. This year, MADD chapters and Saturn retailers will distribute these ribbons for free.

NATIONAL SAFETY COUNCIL PREDICTIONS

160 deaths during Christmas
8,600 injuries during Christmas

The National Hightway Traffic Safety Administration says that 40 to 50 percent of holiday crashes are alcohol-related. Last year, between Thanksgiving and New Year's Eve, 2,053 people were killed in crashes involving alcohol.


If you are going to drink, have a non-drinding designated driver or take some type of public transportation. Where I live, many bars and centers will provide free soft drinks to designated drivers.

There are things you can do to help the campaign. These are just a few of my suggestions.

1. Prepare lots of food so guests will not drink on empty stomachs.
2. Salty snacks tend to make people thirsty so they drink more.
3. Have a variety of soft drinks for the designated driver.
4. Don't let guests mix their own drinks.
5. DO NOT serve alcohol to anyone under 21.
6. Report suspected drunk driver to the police

I plan on having a safe and fun holiday season this year and I hope you do to.


QUILT-2003

GIFTS-2003

Scripts from: LISSA EXPLAINS ALL
Midi from: ARLENE'S HEAVENLY CHRISTMAS MIDI'S

Page created 12/04/02