December 31, 2007

Tonight it is the New Year's Night, tomorrow is the day,
And we are come for our rights, for our 'ray,
As we were used to do in Old King Harry's Day:
Sing, fellows, sing, sing Hagman-heigh!

It is New Year's Eve, celebrated around the world. It's Namahage in Japan, in Scotland it's Hogmanay (which has ancient origins, of course), a Fire Dance in Western Samoa, and St. Sylvester's Day (just another excuse for a feast) in many Catholic countries.

Old Hungarian folklore: to touch a pig on New Year's Eve brought good luck, so restaurants and cafes once turned loose a live pig at midnight. Guests would scramble after the animal.

An old English country custom was to open all the doors in the house a minute or two before midnight and leave them open until the clocks struck the hour: letting the old year out and the new year in.

In the United States, we have First Night celebrations and traditional festivities. We adjust for the Leap Second today to keep our calendar true, and others would have us check our smoke alarms, make resolutions (or not, there's a group called Creative Ways that calls this No Resolution Day), and congratulate ourselves for accomplishments this year.

Whether your celebration is at home, out in the world, or online, may it replenish you and set your way for a sparkling New Year.

And don't forget, it's also the sixth day of Kwanzaa, the seven-day African-American holiday celebration. Today's principle is KUUMBA--creativity.

Tips for the day

First Footing Ritual (From The Winter Solstice: The Sacred Traditions of Christmas):
A few minutes before midnight, put out all the lights except for one candle or flame-burning lantern. Send someone outside. As the clock strikes twelve, that person knocks on the door. Welcome them in with a ceremonial greeting, then from the candle brought in, relight candles around the house. In Scotland, the person arriving brings a small gift to assure good fortune to the house. It's also customary that nothing be taken out of the house on New Year's Day, to ensure that the good fortune brought in by the First Footer doesn't leave the dwelling.

On New Year's Eve, Greek families bake a single coin into St. Basil's bread, called Vasilopita, which is cut at midnight. The person whose slice of cake contains the coin enjoys good luck during the coming year. This is much like the ancient custom of "King of the Bean Cake", although it commemorates St. Basil, the bishop who, as guardian of the people's wealth, miraculously returned to each person his own valuables by having them baked into a large cake. When St. Basil cut the cake, each person's slice contained his own lost money and jewels. Here's a recipe for St. Basil's bread.