However You Say It...Happy New Year!

2016...what can I say about it? This year has flown by with 50 hour work weeks, the never-ending tide of football, soccer, lacrosse & basketball while trying to squeeze in a work-out and grocery shopping...let's just say it's been batshit crazy this year. I know I'm not alone with those sentiments, time has flown by with gale force winds pushing us through time with no control. Now I find myself waiting to bring in the New Year and hoping the next one is better. So I got to thinking, why do we even celebrate New Year's? What is so darn special about the passing of time other than it inches us closer to meeting our maker? Well, we get to hang a new calendar, we get to "forget" the last year, we get a fresh slate to start anew...well, I don't hang calendars, I can't forget the last year and I have too many more gray hairs and wrinkles to start fresh. Nope, I'm a realist, nothing magical is going to happen on the first, so why do we even bother? Well it seems humans have been celebrating the New Year before Jesus was born, 2000 B.C. to be correct, but then the Mesopotamian "new year" was in what we call March and was aligned with the vernal equinox where many farmers would begin their planting. It wasn't until the Romans in 153 B.C. moved it to January 1st coinciding with elected officials starting their terms. Also, keep in mind those Romans increased the year from 355 days to 445 days just to mess with people's heads (I'm sure there was some logic to it). It wasn't until 1582 when we finally got to our current 365 days in a year with the adoption of the Gregorian calendar and through the centuries New Year's Day moved in relation to what those in power thought best. And new to me, New Year's Day is also a day of celebrating the circumcision of Jesus. He was Jewish after all and on the 8th day of life is traditionally when Jewish boys are circumcised...eight days after Christmas...think about it, "Happy New Year! SNIP-SNIP"

While we're singing "Auld Lang Syne" not everyone around the world is celebrating with us. For many people the New Year falls at a different time and has different meanings & traditions associated with it. Here are some examples:

• Ethiopian New Year called Enkutatash. It is celebrated on September 11 (September 12 in leap years). The new year is the end of the summer rainy season.
• Chinese New Year is the first day of the lunar calendar and is corrected for the solar every three years. The holiday normally falls between January 20 and February 20. The holiday is celebrated with food, families, lucky money (usually in a red envelope), and many other red things for good luck.
• Thai New Year is celebrated on April 13 or April 14 and is called Songkran. People usually come out to splash water on one another. The throwing of water originated as a blessing. By capturing the water after it had been poured over the Buddhas for cleansing and then using this "blessed" water to give good fortune to elders and family by gently pouring it on the shoulder.
• Hijri New Year in the Islamic culture is also known as Islamic new year is the day that marks the beginning of a new Islamic calendar year. New Year moves from year to year because the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar. The first day of the year is observed on the first day of Muharram, the first month in the Islamic calendar.
• Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, is celebrated by Jews throughout the world. The date is not set according to the Gregorian calendar, but it always falls during September or October. The holiday is celebrated by religious services and special meals.

Whether you're celebrating on the 1st of January or another time, whether it's to flush the past or welcome the future we all can find at least one thing (maybe more) to embrace and be thankful for. Here's to another year ahead, more "natural" highlights and a few more smile lines.

2017 Here We Come!