"Happy New Year!" You will hear it often in the last of December and during the month of January. The celebration of the new year, first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago, is the oldest of all holidays. But January 1 as the day we celebrate the holiday has only been used by Western nations for about the past 400 years.

How will you spend the beginning of your New Year? Parties, fun, food, good wishes, connecting with family and friends and of course, resolutions (to make and break) is on the list of things to do for the new year. 
 Making New Year's resolutions, "turning over a new leaf", is a  time-honored tradition which also dates back to early Babylon. It brings us hope for new beginnings, prosperity and peace.  We all have our usual resolutions - stop smoking, lose weight, be more thrifty, kind, etc.  One of ours may even be the same in essence as one of the most popular with the early Babylonian's resolution to return borrowed farm equipment. Now to whom did I lend that manual and who lent me this book? J  

We would love to hear your New Year resolution.  
it to us and we will post it on our Association Newsletter page.

Around 600 BC, Greece started the tradition of using the "New Year Baby" to signify the beginning of a new year, celebrating their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket, representing the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. Possibly our toasting the New Year in with champagne comes from this. Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth. The Germans who used the effigy since the fourteenth century brought the baby as a symbol to early America.

Luck in the coming year was thought affected by what they did or ate on the first day of the year. It was once believed that the first visitor on New Year's Day would bring either good luck or bad luck the rest of the year. And so, it has become common for folks to celebrate with parties to ring in a New Year in the company of family and friends. Traditional New Year foods are also thought to bring luck. Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolizes "coming full circle," completing a year's cycle. For that reason, the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year's Day will bring good fortune. Many parts of the country celebrate the new year by consuming black-eyed peas with either hog jowls or ham. Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable that is consumed on New Year's Day by many.

How to wish your friend living in a non-English speaking country a Happy New Year? 
Maybe it's on our list.
  Afrikaans                   Gelukkige nuwe jaar
  Arabic                        Antum salimoun
  Bengali                       Shuvo Nabo Barsho
  Chinese                      Chu Shen Tan
  Czechoslovakia         Scastny Novy Rok
  Dutch                          Gullukkig Niuw Jaar
  Eskimo                        Kiortame pivdluaritlo
  Finnish                       Onnellista Uutta Vuotta
  French                        Bonne Annee
  German                       Prosit Neujahr
  Greek                           Kenourios Chronos
  Hawaiian                    Hauoli Makahiki Hou
  Hebrew                       L'Shannah Tovah		   Hindi                            Subh Nab Bars
  Irish                              Bliain nua fe mhaise dhuit
  Italian:                          Buon Capodanno
  Norwegian                   Godt Nyttår
  Philippines                   Manigong Bagong Taon
  Polish                           Szczesliwego Nowego Roku
  Portuguese                  Feliz Ano Novo
  Russian                        S Novim Godom
  Serbo-Croatian            Scecna nova godina
  Slovak                          A stastlivy Novy Rok
  Spanish                        Feliz Año Neuvo
  Thai                              Sawadee Pee Mai
  Ukrainian                     Shchastlyvoho Novoho Roku

And From Us to You........A Very Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Make your New Year's resolution    
To join us in Miami for the
Greater Miami International Bowling Tournament.