HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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 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 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.
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.
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. 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" 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 Robert 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." The lyrics and the music can be found in last year's entry. Check it!

Once you've finished reading take this New Year's Quiz! http://wilstar.com/holidays/ny-quiz.htm

Mother's day

Everything I ever needed to know I learned from my mother:

My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE: "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside - I just finished cleaning!"
My mother taught me RELIGION: "You'd better pray that will como out of the carpet."
My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL: "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week."
My mother taught me LOGIC: "Because I said so, that's why."
My mother taught me FORESIGHT: "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."
My mother taught me IRONY: "Keep crying and I'll give you something to cry about."
My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS: "Shut your mouth and eat your dinner."
My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM: "Will you look at the dirt on the back of your neck."
My mother taught me about STAMINA: "YOu'll sit there 'till all that spinach is finished."
My mother taught me about WEATHER: "It looks as if a cyclone swept through your room."
My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY: "I've told you a million times - don't exaggerate!"
My mother taught me about THE CIRCLE OF LIFE: "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."
My mother taught me about BEHAVIOUR MODIFICATION: "Stop acting like your father."
My mother taught me about ENVY: "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have a wonderful mother like you do!"

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Eric Grohe

There are some people who can make something extraordinary out of ordinary things. Eric Grohe is one of them. He paints murals and here is a token of his talent:




If you want to see more of his work click here http://www.ericgrohemurals.com

Happy Spring!

Spring
Robert McCracken

Today is the day when bold kites fly,
When cumulus clouds roar across the sky.
When robins return, when children cheer,
When light rain beckons spring to appear.

Today is the day when daffodils bloom,
Which children pick to fill the room,
Today is the day when grasses green,
When leaves burst forth for spring to be seen.

Children's day

The United Nations General Assembly recommended in 1954 (resolution 836(IX)) that all countries institute a Universal Children's Day, to be observed as a day of worldwide fraternity and understanding between children and of activity promoting the welfare of the world's children. It suggested to governments that the Day be observed on the date which each considers appropriate.

In Argentina Children's Day is celebrated on the second Sunday of August, TODAY!!!
HAPPY DAY CHILDREN!

Olympic Games

This is the link to the official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Enjoy it!

http://en.beijing2008.cn/

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogery chwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is the longest named railway station in the world. Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgo gerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch is an actual town in Wales.Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerych wyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, translated in English means "The church of St. Mary in the hollow of white hazel trees near the rapid whirlpool by St. Tysilio's of the red cave".
The locals hardly use this long word, instead call it as Llanfair.
Also, this town boasts the longest single word (without the hyphens) .com domain name in the world. The maximum allowed characters as a .com domain name is 67 characters in length. So this, Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogery chwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.com has a few more characters to spare (58 characters in length). Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogery chwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.com is officially in the Guinness Book of World Records and was registered by Internetters on 21st October 1999.

There are two other towns with longer name than llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogery chwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, one in New Zealand with 92 characters long, "Tetaumatawhakatang ihangakoauaotamateaurehaeaturipukap ihimaungahoronukupokaiwhenuaakitanarahu" and the other in Thailand which has a staggering 163 characters long named, "Krungthepmahanakornamornra tanakosinmahintarayutthayamahadilokph opnopparatrajathaniburiromudomrajaniwes mahasatharnamornphimarnavatarnsathitsakkattiyavisanukamprasit".

It is easy to understand why the people living there burst into tears when you ask them where they are from.

Winter

Winter

Autumn winds are dying
As winter rears its head.
Soon the land will sleep again
In the silence of the dead.
The gray sky seems a blanket.
The golden trees now bare;
Their branches reach out to the sky
To grasp the misty air.

Dark browns replace the orange
And grays replace the blue
Soon snow will change this landscape
As the spiral dance holds true

The silence will be welcomed
By a solitary crow.
An eerie song of mystery
That few will ever know.

For winter keeps its secrets,
The ones not hard to hide.
The answer's all around us,
But the question sleeps inside.

Friend's day

Friend's Day is a celebration of friendship held annually on July 20th, mainly in Argentina and Uruguay but also in some other countries.

The idea for Friend's Day goes back to Argentine teacher, musician, and dentist Enrique Febbraro, who had the idea of turning the anniversary of the first moon landing into an international day of friendship. He argued that on this particular day, the whole world had been friends of the three astronauts. The first official recognition of the day came with decree No. 235/79 by the government of the province of Buenos Aires, which authorized the celebration and gave it official nature.

In Argentina, Friend's Day is often a good excuse for a common friendly gathering, though people also employ the day to get in contact with old and seldom-met friends and greet them. Since it is not a public holiday in Argentina, the gatherings tend to happen during the evening.

Though Friend's Day has always been respected, in recent years it has turned into a very popular mass phenomenon. In 2005, too many well-wishing friends led to a temporary breakdown of the mobile phone network in the cities of Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Rosario. In Rosario, the celebration of the Friends Day has been moved to the 19th of July, when Roberto Fontanarrosa, the best comic writer of the city, died.

Source: http://www.translatorscafe.com/cafe/MegaBBS/forumthread12038.htm

Mandela's words

While reading about Nelson Mandela, South Africa and the Apartheid last Friday, I found this quotation I'd like to share with you.

Mandela's statement from the dock in the Rivonia Trial ends with these words:

I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.