it's time for 08...

The presents have been opened, the pine needles are falling off the tree, & your electric bill has skyrocketed thanks to your Criswald-like decorations outside.  Christmas may be over, but the holiday season is far from a thing of the past.  Today we face the day that partiers plan for and singles abhor.  Children get to stay up late and their parent's marvel at the fact that Dick Clark still hangs out in Times Square.  As one year closes and another one begins we are left to ponder the last 12 months of our lives and wonder at what the future may hold in 2008. 

New Year's is also a time when superstition and tradition creep in.  All the world over, there are various customs that people follow on the Eve of the New Year and the first day of the year. 

In Spain and Portugal, the clock strikes midnight and everyone eats 12 grapes, one for each bell toll to bring good luck for the next twelve months of the year.  

In Russia, Grandfather Frost arrives with a bag of toys for the children.  The only difference between him and Santa is that he wears a blue suit rather than a red one, and he arrives a week later! 

In South America, a dummy or straw person is placed outside and burned at midnight in the hopes of scaring away evil spirits. 

The Japanese hang a rope of straw over the front of their houses, which stands for happiness and good luck.  And whereas we Americans start the year with a kiss for our loved one, the Japanese start with laughter in order to usher in happiness and good luck for the next year. 

In Brazil, people wear white to bring them good luck but...

In Mexico women are said to wear red underwear in the hopes of finding love in the next year. Mexicans also may walk around the block with their suitcase in the hopes that they will travel in the new year. 

In Germany, people drop molten lava into cold water and determine the fate of their next year by the shape that forms. 

And in Great Britain, the tradition of first footing is practiced.  The first male visitor to the house is supposed to bring good luck, as well as gifts, such as bread, money, or coal to ensure that the family will not lack any of these in the next year.  It is bad luck if the first visitor is a blonde, red-head, or a woman.  

So what can we learn from all these traditions?  And what might we celebrate in the world's melting pot of America?  Well, we like our champagne on New Year's Eve and we always love a party.  Millions gather in New York's Times Square to watch the infamous crystal ball drop and listen to Dick Clark count us down to midnight.  But I wouldn't mind incorporating some of these traditions into my New Year's routine.

Tonight I will welcome 2008 without a date.  I will go solo to a dinner party with close friends where I am sure I will feel very loved and yet a little lonely.  But I will wear red underwear in the hopes that love comes my way over the next year!  And I'll probably walk around the block with my suitcase so that my travels will not end this year.  I hope that someone tall, dark, and handsome will enter my (parent's) house and bring good luck to us all as our first footer.  Note to self: I must be sure and not be the first footer, seeing as I am blonde and a woman! 

I probably won't eat 12 grapes, but I might drink 12 glasses of wine?!  I will watch Dick Clark count down the ball drop and I will watch fireworks on tv and make a lot of noise in the hopes of warding off evil spirits.  I will kiss my dear friends on the cheek and hope that some nice lad might come my way and plant a kiss on my lips.   But what is more likely is that I will laugh at myself at midnight for crying in public!! 

I won't drop molten lava into water, but I will follow my Pennsylvania Dutch roots and eat pork and sauerkraut on New Year's Day.  I will not, however, refuse to change my underpants for fear of getting boils!  I will make sure our cupboards are stocked today so as to ensure they will remain that way all year.  I am perfectly happy not taking out the trash or doing laundry so as to not provoke any bad luck, sadness, or death...plus, I'll be busy watching college football on tv!  And I will be sure that I open all the doors before midnight and ensure that the tall, dark, and handsome fellow who visits me tomorrow leaves through one of the doors that he didn't enter through.

In the end, wherever you are welcoming in the New Year and whomever you are spending it with, remember that there are a lot of ways to bring good luck and happiness to your future.  The best and the easiest is to be grateful for what you have and those whom love you.  Surround yourself with people who care and I'm certain that this next year will put a smile on your face.

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