New Year's Traditions

                                                                                 United States 

   Probably the most famoustradition in the USA is the dropping of the New Year ballin Times Square, New York City, at 11:59 p.m. Thousands gather to watch the ball make its one-minute descend, arriving exactly at midnight. The tradition began in 1907. The original ball was made of iron and wood; the current ball is made of Waterford Crystal, weighs 1,070 pounds, and is six feet in diameter. 

   A traditional southern New Year's dish is Hoppin' John - black eyed peas and ham hocks. An old saying goes, "Eat peas on New Year's day to have plenty of everything for the rest of the year." 

   Another American tradition is the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The Tournament of Roses parade that precedes the football game on New Year's day is made up of elaborate and inventive floats. The first parade was held in 1886.

                                                                            Hogmanay (Scotland)

   

   The birthplace of "Auld Lang Syne" is also the home of Hogmanay the rousing Scottish New Year's celebration (the origins of the name are obscure). One of the traditions is "first-footing". Shortly after midnight on New Year's eve, neighbours pay visits to each other and impart New Year's wishes. Traditionally, First foots used to bring a gift of coal for the fire, or shortbread. It is considered especially lucky if a tall, dark, and handsome man is the first to enter your house after the new year is rung in. The Edinburgh Hogmanay celebration is the largest in the country, and consists of an all-night street party. 

                                                                             Oshogatsu (Japan) 

 The new year is the most important holiday in Japan, and is a symbol of renewal. In December, various Bonenkai or "forget-the-year parties" are held to bid farewell to the problems and concerns and prepare for a new beginning. Misunderstandings and grudges are forgiven and houses are scrubbed. At midnight on December 31, Buddhist temples strike their gongs 108 times, in an effort to expel 108 types of human weakness. New Year's day itself is a day of joy and no work is to be done. Children receive otoshidamas, small gifts with money inside. Sending New Year's cards is a popular tradition - if postmarked by a certain date, the Japanese post office guarantees delivery of all New Year's cards on January 1st.  

                                                                                                 Greece 

 

   In Greece, New Year's day is also the Festival of St.Basil, one of the founders of the Greek Orthodox Church. One of the traditional foods served is Vassilopitta, or St. Basil's cake. A silveror gold coin is baked inside the cake. Whoever finds the coin in their piece of cake will be especially lucky during the coming year. 

                                                                                         Spain 

 

   The Spanish ritual on New Year's eve is to eat twelve grapes at midnight. The tradition is meant to secure twelve happy months in the coming year.

Happy New Year!

                                                        A move from March to January 

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 celebrared around the time of 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.

                                   Early Roman Calendar: March 1st Rings in the New Year 

The early Roman calendar designated March 1st as the new year. The calendar had just ten months, beginning with March. That the new year once began with the month of March is still reflected in some of the names of the months. September through December, our ninth through twelfth months, were originally positioned as the seventh through tenth months (septem is Latin for "seven", octo is "eight", novem is "nine", and decem is "ten"). 

                                                        January Joins the Calendar 

The first time the new year was celebrated on January 1st was in Rome in 153 B.C. (In fact, the month of January did not even exist until around 700 B.C., when the second king of Rome, Numa Pontiliu, added the months of January and February.) the new year was moved from March to January because that was the beginning of the civil year, the month that the two newly elected Roman consuls - the highest officials in the Roman Republic - began their one-year tenure. But this new year date was not always strictly and widely observed, and the new year was still sometimes celebrated on March 1st. 

                         Julian Calendar: January 1st Officially Instituted as the New Year 

In 46 B.C. Julius Ceasar introduced a new, solar-based calendar that was a vast improvement on the ancient Roman calendar, which was a lunar system that had become wildly inaccurate over the years. The Julian calendar decreed that the new year would occur with January 1, and within the roman world, January 1 became the consistently observed start of the new year. 

                                                   Middle Ages: January 1st Abolished

In medieval Europe, however, the celebrations accompanying the new year were considered pagan and unchristian like, and in 567 the Council of Tours abolished January 1 as the beginning of the year. At various times and in various places throughout medieval Christian Europe, the new year was celebrated on December 25, the birth of Jesus; March 1; March 25, the Feast of the Annunciation; and Easter. 

                                            Gregorian Calendar: January 1st Restored 

In 1582, the Gregorian calendar reform restored January 1 as new year's day. Although most Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar almost immediately, it was only gradually adopted among Protestant countries. The British, for example, did not adopt the reformed calendar until 1752. Until then, the British Empire - and their American colonies - still celebrated the new year in March.

Boxing Day

  

   Boxing Day began in England during the Middle Ages. Some historians say the holiday developed because servants were required to work on Christmas Day, but took the following day off. As servants prepared to leave to visit their families, their employers would present them with gift boxes. 

    Another theory is that the boxes placed in churches where parishioners deposited coins for the poor were opened and the contents distributed on December 26, which is also the Feast of St. Stephen. St. Stephen was one of seven deacons of the Christian Church who were ordained by the Apostles to care for widows and the poor. For the success of his preaching and his devotion to Christ, St. Stephen was stoned to death by a mob. As he died, he begged God not to punish his killers. 

    As time went by, Boxing Day gift giving expanded to include those who had rendered a service during the previous year. This traditions survives today as people give presents to tradesmen, mailcarriers, doormen, porters and others who helped them. 

    Boxing Day is December 26, the day after Christmas, and is celebrated in Great Britain and in most areas settled by the English (the USA is the major exception), including Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Merry Christmas!

  Christmas Bells

I HEARD the bells on Christmas Day 

Their old, familiar carols play, 

 And wild and sweet 

The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
 And thought how, as the day had come, 

 The belfries of all Christendom
 Had rolled along
 The unbroken song
 Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
 Till ringing, singing on its way,
 The world revolved from night to day,
 A voice, a chime,
 A chant sublime
 Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
 Then from each black, accursed mouth
 The cannon thundered in the South,
 And with the sound
 The carols drowned 

 Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
 It was as if an earthquake rent
 The hearth-stones of a continent, 

 And made forlorn
 The households born
 Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
 And in despair I bowed my head;
 "There is no peace on earth," I said;
 "For hate is strong,
 And mocks the song
 Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
 Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
 "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
 The Wrong shall fail,
 The Right prevail,
 With peace on earth, good-will to men."

                                                                                 Henry Longfellow
 

St. Nicholas Day

You may think it's too early for St. Nicholas to come. But Englishmen and Americans (and lots of people in other cultures) won't agree. This night they have been waiting for His visit and gifts. The thing is that in Western Christianity (Gregorian calendar) they celebrate this great holiday on the sixth of December. 

Saint Nicholas and the UK (England)  

England has more than 500 churches named for St. Nicholas. These parishes and cathedrals mark their patron saint's feast day with a special Patronal Feast. As St. Nicholas Day is in early Advent and he is associated with children and gifts, many churches invite the saint to visit during, or after, the Sunday service, to explain who he is and what it means to celebrate his memory today. (Some churches do observe the day properly on the 6th rather than on the closest Sunday because each Advent Sunday has its own important theme.) On this day the homily reflects St Nicholas' true identity, as opposed to the more commercial Father Christmas or Santa. This is also a time for collecting food, gifts, and money for the less financially privileged.

Before the English Reformation, when Henry the VIII led the Church of England away from the Roman Catholic Church, Nicholas was one of the most popular saints in England. Besides churches under St. Nicholas' patronage, "Nicholas" was one of the most common names for boys, as shown by baptismal records of the time. The medieval Boy Bishop custom, though practiced on the Continent,  was most enthusiastically embraced in England.

Some English parishes and cathedrals have recovered the Boy Bishop custom which dropped out of favor in the 16th century. One of the choristers is selected to serve as the Boy or Nicholas Bishop. He wears full episcopal robes and carries the Lord Bishop's pastoral staff. At the words from the Magnificat, "He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly," the Boy Bishop, illustrating such an inversion, processes through the Quire and takes the Bishop's seat. For example, in Hereford Cathedral, the commissioned Boy Bishop preaches a sermon, leads the prayers, and asks for God's blessing on the people. In some places the custom has been updated with either a boy or a girl serving as the youthful bishop.

Saint Nicholas and Ukraine

St. Nicholas, Sviatyij Mykolai, comes to Ukraine on  the 19th December (by the Orthodox Julian calendar). The night is often called "Magic Night" or just St. Nicholas Day. It is seen as a universal children's festival.

It is a happy day with visiting and sleigh rides. Schools have plays telling Nicholas stories and the saint visits local churches. Dressed as a Byzantine bishop, the good saint is often accompanied by angels. He quizzes children on their catechism before giving gifts. St. Nicholas Day is the main day for gift-giving, though gifts are also becoming associated with Christmas Day. Today many Ukrainian churches have St. Nicholas celebrations to help children understand that the holy man Nicholas came long before Santa Claus.

St. Nicholas history in Ukraine goes back to the 10th and 11th centuries. In churches, his icons are prominently placed next to Jesus, the Mother of God, or the patron saint of the church. His icons were found also in nearly every home. In the mountains of western Ukraine where the Hutzels named the four seasons of the year after saints, winter honors St. Nicholas.

Ukrainian folk tradition recognizes two Saint Nicholas figures: "cold Nicholas" and "warm Nicholas."

Cold Nicholas, the familiar winter saint, is believed to bring the first snow by shaking his beard. In Western Ukraine accompanied by angel and devil figures, he is celebrated with gift-giving as described above. As the patron saint of spinning, yarns and thread were brought to church to "add to his beard."

Celebrated in the spring, warm Nicholas, patron saint of farming, is said to walk the land to dry overly wet areas and dampen the dry. On the festival horses begin grazing in the fields, sheep are sheared, and buckwheat sowed. In port areas the festival focuses on Nicholas as patron saint of the seas. Cossacks, like the Greeks, take St. Nicholas icons when sailing the treacherous Black Sea.

                                                                           www.stnicholascenter.org

This Is How We Do

                                                           At the lessons we love ... 

                                                                   discussing  

                                        

  

thinking  

                                                      

                                                       

                                                     

                                                        

smiling  :)