New Year's Fun and Games

Fireworks, photo by J.J.

We got such a nice response to the games and trivia in our Thanksgiving issue that we thought we would do another one for New Year's Eve/New Year's Day. We have included some ways to celebrate the season in positive ways, as well.

How much do you know about New Year's history, customs and lore? Take this little multiple choice quiz. You will find the correct answers scattered through the text of this article. Mark your answers, and check later to see if you were correct. (You can copy this quiz, and the one that follows it, or just download a PDF version of both here.)

New Year's Trivia Quiz
1. We have evidence that the New Year was celebrated first by
   Babylonians            Egyptians                Greeks
2. The first celebrations were held in the
   Winter                Spring                Autumn
3. The New Year was shifted to January 1st by
   Ptolemy                Julius Caesar            Pope Gregory
4. Ancient New Year's celebrations were marked by
   Meeting with friends        Exchanging gifts        Noisy parties
5. The first person to enter a Scottish home after midnight New Year's Eve        must never be
   An expectant mother        A blond man            A red-haired girl
6. The Chinese ‘zodiac’ consists of a series of 12
   Gods and goddesses        Ancient warriors        Animals
7. The Chinese calendar is different because it
   Has more than 12 months     Is lunar, not solar    Is the same each year
8. Besides the long groups of dragon dancers, a popular dance features a
   Lion                  Tiger                         Elephant
9. Before the celebrations the Chinese people
   Clean their houses    Pay their debts    Apologize
10. In parts of Asia where there are Buddhist temples, the bells ring
        25 times           56 times               108 times

Match The Country With the Custom

Countries all around the world have special customs and superstitions that they associate with the passing of the old year and the beginning of the new one. Draw a line between the custom and the country that you believe celebrates it. The answers are at the end of this issue. Don't peek!
............................................................................................................................
CUSTOMS                                                                   COUNTRIES
1. Eating 12 grapes, 1 for each stroke of                a) U.S.A.
    the clock at midnight
2. Throwing loaves of bread on the door -              b) Peru
    steps of friends and family
3. Huge fireworks displays over the                       c) Greece
    Southern Ocean
4. "Friendly" fistfights refereed by the                  d) Denmark
    local police
5. Wearing polka-dot clothing, eating                      e) Columbia
    round foods, and tossing coins
6. Eating pork, black-eyed peas, and                       f) Ecuador
    collard greens for luck
7. Carrying empty suitcases around in                   g) Philippines
    hopes of vacation travel that year
8. Hang an onion on the front door on                  h) Ireland
    New Year's Eve and hit your children
    on the head with it the next day
9. Burning scarecrows stuffed with paper              i) Australia
    at midnight to scare away bad luck
10. Breaking plates and glasses against                  j) Spain
      the doors of friends and neighbors

Did You Know?

The first known celebration of the New Year was by the ancient Babylonians. It was celebrated on the first new moon after the vernal (Spring) equinox. The dates of the vernal and autumnal (Fall) equinoxes change over time due to movements of the earth in relation to the sun. I was born on the autumnal equinox, but it has moved a day in just my lifetime. Most cultures celebrated in the spring near the time for planting, or in the fall around harvest time. The Babylonians celebrated by exchanging gifts and having loud parties. As time went by, different cultures chose different kinds of celebrations. Some went on for a week or more with a different kind of celebration on each day.

New Years didn't fall on January first until 47 BC (BCE), when the Roman emperor Julius Caesar (yes, that one) introduced the Julian Calendar. By this time people were decorating their homes with laurel branches. The Romans also made sacrifices to various gods and goddesses at this time. It was still celebrated on different dates in various cultures — and still is in some. In 1582, Pope Gregory VIII established it permanently on January first. Most of the world still uses the Gregorian calendar, so most countries celebrate it on that date. And the noisy parties, at least, still continue.

Some traditions are very old. The blond man the Scots don't want to see as the first person to step across their threshold on New Year's Day represents a Viking raider who has not been around for nearly 1000 years!

Chocolate "money"

New Year's food traditions are found in many parts of the world. You may have heard about eating black-eyed peas in some regions of the U.S. This supposed to be lucky, especially for finances. What is surprising is that so many very different cultures have similar traditions involving foods eaten on New Years to increase financial prosperity. And usually the foods are round, signifying coins!

Temple bells

In parts of Asia where there are Buddhist temples, the bells are rung 108 times in succession. This represents the number of sins that the human race is believed to commit, with devout hopes that some of them, at least, will disappear in the coming year.

The Chinese New Year follows a lunar (moon) calendar, not a solar (sun) calendar, so the dates differ from year to year. In 2021, the celebration begins on February 12th and continues until February 26th. Preparations begin about a week before the actual event. First comes a serious housecleaning, sweeping out the old year. Cupboards are restocked and new clothing is purchased. It is imperative that associations with friends and neighbors begin the new year on good terms; therefore, debts need to be paid, borrowed items be returned, and apologies spoken for any harsh words or slights that happened during the year.

A Lion dance is often performed to bring good luck. Dancers wear decorative costumes representing lions. Of course, lions are very dangerous animals to have around, so the costumes have mirrors on their headdresses so they will scare themselves and eventually go away.

Oxen statue

The Chinese calendar is established in a 12 year cycle. Each year of the 12 is represented by a different animal (often called the Chinese Zodiac). The year 2021 will be the year of the Ox (2020 was the year of the Rat). After that the years progress with the years of the Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Sheep. Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig, and the Rat again.

A New Slant On an Old Game

Here's a new way to play an old game. You have probably played a lot of paper-and-pencil games in which you have to write down as many answers as possible within a certain length of time. (Goodness knows that all of us who have attended baby showers through the years have done this!) Perhaps you have done this by making words from “Happy New Year”. This time I suggest you use “Auld Lang Syne” instead. Both titles have the same number of consonants, plus 'y', which can be used as a vowel sometimes as well as a consonant. But "auld lang syne" has a third vowel, which makes a big difference. Give the players each a sheet of paper with "auld lang syne" written or printed at the top. No capitalized words, slang, or trademark names are allowed. If a word isn't spelled correctly, it doesn't count. Players may challenge each other's words. No letter may be used more times in a word than it appears in "auld lang syne". All words must have 4 letters or more. A time limit is set for the game. Simple prizes may be given for the most correct words, the longest word, etc.

There are other simple, "old-fashioned" games that work well for this type of celebration. These include "I Spy", charades, an indoor treasure or scavenger hunt, and old favorite board games like Monopoly. Many of them can, with a bit of planning and ingenuity, also be played in video chat modes.

A New Year's Tree??

Once the Christmas decorations have been removed from the tree and safely packed away, redecorate with "fun" items, some of which can even be thrown at the tree. Ideas include paper chains, greeting cards, lengths of tinsel, comic-book cut-outs, strings of popcorn and/or cranberries, wads of silver "icicles", and pictures the children have drawn for the occasion. If your tree is artificial, you can leave it up as long as you like. If it is a real tree that needs to be recycled, then clean-up on the following day can be fun, too.

Begin The New Year With Thanks

Take the time to write a note, send a text, or make a phone call to each person who has made your life better in some way during the past year. That includes people who have cheered you, supported you, comforted you and inspired you. I hope it also encourages you to do the same things for other people during the new year that is just beginning. If you have children, encourage them to all or write notes to grandparents, teachers, neighbors and friends.

Another thing you might want to do is to choose a local, nation-wide, or world-wide organization and make a donation to them to help start their yearly activities. For example, our little town has a volunteer fire department which has not only protected us, but has also helped with the awful regional forest fires we suffered this year. Town and school libraries are always grateful for donations. Your local SPCA or animal shelter can always use help. Look around. You can find a cause to champion.

Whether you celebrate the New Year on January first or some other date, how you and your family celebrate should set the tone for the rest of the year. Be sure to make good choices.

Happy New Year! Best wishes from a person from the Year of the Horse and one from the Year of the Monkey.

Answers to the trivia questions: 1. Babylonians 2. Spring 3. Julius Caesar, but give yourself half a point for Pope Gregory, who made it a law 4. All are correct 5. Blonde man 6. Animals 7. Lunar 8. Lion 9. All are correct 10. 108

Answers to matching quiz; 1. j 2. h 3. i 4. b 5. g 6. a 7.e 8. c 9. f 10. d