Happy New Year!

​​It’s been a while since I last posted a blog, so I thought I would start 2019 off right.
 
The New Year has been observed as a holiday celebration for over 4,000 years, since ancient times in Babylon. 
 
At that time, however, a new year began after the vernal equinox, the first day of spring. It seemed more logical to begin a new year in spring, which is generally thought of as the season of rebirth. 
 
January 1, on the other hand, has no particular significance other than the fact that in 153 BC the Romans decided that a new year should begin on that date. But the date wasn't firmly established until around 46 BC, when Caesar ordered the observance of the Julian calendar, which would then be coordinated with the sun.
 
So now around the world, we celebrate New Year’s Eve on December 31 with parties, festivities, and the playing of “Auld Lang Syne” at midnight. But did you know that December 31 is also important for many other reasons? 
 
Here are just a few:

• On this date in 1687, the first shipload of Huguenots (French Protestants) left France for South Africa.
• In 1776, Rhode Island established wage and price controls to curb inflation. Carpenters were paid a limit of 70 cents a day and tailors 42 cents. 
• In 1841, Alabama became the first state to license dental surgeons.  
• On December 31 in 1857, Queen Victoria decided to make Ottawa the new capital of Canada.

• In 1902, the Boers and the British army signed a peace  treaty, officially ending the Boer War.
• And in 1911 Marie Curie received her second Nobel Prize.

  
For all you trivia buffs out there, here are a couple of famous people who were born on New Year’s Eve:
  

• Bonnie Prince Charles Edward Stuart in 1720      
• French impressionist painter, Henri Matisse in 1869 

  
Those Babylonian New Year celebrations apparently lasted for eleven days, with each day having its own particular role to play in the festivities.

Today, our New Year’s Eve celebrations—known as Hogmanay in Scotland, Evacuation Day in Lebanon (1946), Grand Purification day in Japan, and the day when the Grand Imperial Ball is held in Austria—all pale in comparison with those celebrations held in Babylon.
 
The significance of a baby to herald in the new year began in ancient Greece around 600 BC. The baby signified the annual rebirth of their god Dionysus, god of wine and the spirit of fertility.  The image of a baby was continued by the Romans but was denounced by early Christians as a pagan practice. The tradition was brought to North America by the Germans who had used this image since the 14th century.
 
And if you're looking for good luck in the New Year, the shape of a ring is considered to bring good luck (symbolizing coming full circle and completing the year), and in that context, the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year’s Eve will bring good fortune for the coming year! I particularly like that idea.
 
Cabbage is another good luck vegetable consumed by many cultures on New Year’s Day. Cabbage leaves are supposedly a sign of prosperity, and rice eaten on New Year’s Day is also considered by some to be lucky.
​
Whatever your beliefs or traditions might be, I wish each and every one of you a very happy and healthy New Year. And make sure that one of your resolutions for 2019 is to read more books!                                                     

Happy New Year to all my readers!