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New Years Day
party supplies, invitations, decorations, recipes,
menus, free party games, party ideas, and New Years Day Party fun facts all here at
New Years Day.com |
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New Years Day Party Supplies...
include invitations, decorations, piņatas, centerpieces & paper
products.
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New Years Day
Party
Planning...
include recipes, menus, loot bags, party favors, party gifts, check
list
& etiquette.
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New Years Day Party
Ideas...
include trivia, free party games, activities, Mrs. Party
tips, & lots of
party ideas.
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*** History Of New
Years Day
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The
celebration of the new year is one of the oldest holidays. Many
believe it was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago it
marked the first New Moon after the Vernal Equinox . The
Babylonian new year celebration lasted for eleven days. How did
New Years Day move from the summer to the winter? A good question,
especially since the spring is the season of rebirth, of planting new
crops, and of blossoming. Today New years Day is January 1st.
The month of January was named for their god, Janus, who is
pictured with two heads. One looks forward, the other back, symbolizing
a break between the old and new. The Greeks paraded a baby in a basket
to represent the spirit of fertility. Christians adopted this symbol as
the birth of the baby Jesus and continued what started as a pagan
ritual. Today our New Year's symbols are a newborn baby starting the
next year and an old man winding up the last year.
Not all countries celebrate New Year at the
same time, nor in the same way. This is because people in different
parts of the world use different calendars. Long ago, people divided
time into days, months, and years. Some calendars are based on the
movement of the moon, others are based on the position of the sun, while
others are based on both the sun and the moon. All over the world, there
are special beliefs about New Year.
The Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah. It is a holy time
when people reflect on the things done wrong in the past, with a promise
to do better in the future. Religious services are held in
synagogues, and an instrument called a Shofar, which is made from
a ram's horn is played. Children are given new clothes, and New Year
loaves are baked and fruit is eaten to remind people of harvest time.
The Chinese New Year is celebrated some time between January 17 and
February 19, at the time of the new moon, and it is called Yuan Tan.
It is celebrated by Chinese people all over the world, and street
parades are an exciting part of their New Year. At the Festival of
Lanterns thousands of lanterns are used to light the way for the
New Year. The Chinese people believe that there are evil spirits
around at New Year, so they let off firecrackers to frighten the spirits
away. Sometimes they seal their windows and doors with paper to keep the
evil spirits out.
The traditions of the season include the making of New Year's
resolutions. Making a resolutions to change some part of one's life also
dates back to the early Babylonians. Today most people promise to lose
weight or quit smoking.
Our ancestors 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. It has become common for folks to celebrate the first few
minutes of a brand new year in the company of family and friends.
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. Some
put coins in black-eyed peas and the person who gets the coin in their
meal will be prosperous in the coming year.
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