New Year’s Folklore:
Some customs and beliefs are simply passed down through the ages. Here are some of our favorite age-old sayings and proverbs.
On New Year’s Eve, kiss the person you hope to keep kissing.
If New Year’s Eve night wind blow south, It betokeneth warmth and growth.
For abundance in the new year, fill your pockets and cupboards today.
If the old year goes out like a lion, the new year will come in like a lamb.
Begin the new year square with every man.(i.e., pay your debts!) –Robert B. Thomas, founder of The Old Farmer’s Almanac
So, whether we resolve to return borrowed farm equipment (as did the Babylonians) or drop a few pounds, we’re tapping into an ancient and powerful longing for a fresh start!
Eat Lucky Food
Many New Year’s traditions surround food. Here are a few:
- In the southern US, black-eyed peas and pork foretell good fortune.
- Eating any ring-shaped treat (such as a donut) symbolize “coming full circle” and leads to good fortune. In Dutch homes, fritters called olie bollen are served.
- The Irish enjoy pastries called bannocks.
- The tradition of eating 12 grapes at midnight comes from Spain.
- In India and Pakistan, rice promises prosperity.
- Apples dipped in honey are a Rosh Hashanah tradition.
- In Swiss homes, dollops of whipped cream, symbolizing the richness of the year to come, are dropped on the floors (and allowed to remain there!)
Give a Gift
New Year’s Day was once the time to swap presents.
· Gifts of gilded nuts or coins marked the start of the new year in Rome.
· Eggs, the symbol of fertility, were exchanged by the Persians.
· Early Egyptians traded earthenware flasks.
· In Scotland, coal, shortbread and silverware are exchanged for good luck.
This year, Geocaching invites you and your loved ones to say goodbye to 2015 and hello to 2016 with two new geocaching souvenirs. Find a geocache or attend an event on December 31 to earn the Goodbye 2015 souvenir. Then, start your year off right with the Hello 2016 souvenir, which can be earned by finding a geocache or attending an event on January 1.
This New Year’s Day (evening) event will earn you your January 1 souvenir.
We will meet at the above coordinates from 5:30 to 6:15pm to celebrate the first sunset of 2016.
Bring your cameras as Key West sunsets are often spectacular.