May you get a clean bill of health from your dentist, your cardiologist, your gastro-enterologist, your urologist, your proctologist, your podiatrist, your psychiatrist, your plumber and the I.R.S.
May your hair, your teeth, your face-lift, your abs and your stocks not fall; and may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol, your white blood count and your mortgage interest not rise.
May New Year's Eve find you seated around the table, together with your beloved family and cherished friends. May you find the food better, the environment quieter, the cost much cheaper, and the pleasure much more fulfilling than anything else you might ordinarily do that night.
May what you see in the mirror delight you, and what others see in you delight them. May someone love you enough to forgive your faults, be blind to your blemishes, and tell the world about your virtues.
May the telemarketers wait to make their sales calls until you finish dinner, may the commercials on TV not be louder than the program you have been watching, and may your check book and your budget balance - and include generous amounts for charity.
May you remember to say "I love you" at least once a day to your spouse, your child, your parent, your siblings; but not to your secretary, your nurse, your masseuse, your hairdresser or your tennis instructor.
And may we live in a world at peace and with the awareness of God's love in every sunset, every flower's unfolding petals, every baby's smile, every lover's kiss, and every wonderful, astonishing, miraculous beat of our heart.
In order to have a 'clean slate' on which to start the New Year, people in times past have made certain that they had all their borrowings cleared. Those were the days before such complexities as credit buying. The New Year resolutions, which we are so fond of, represent other efforts to make the year brand new. In fact, we often say that in the New Year we are "turning over a new leaf."
For Luck in the New Year ~
It is traditionally thought that the first day of the year is symptomatic of the approaching 364 Days. Accordingly, people try to spend the first day of the new year in the best possible way in the company of Family and friends. .
Traditional New Year foods are also thought to bring good luck. In many cultures, it is a predominant belief that anything in the shape of a ring brings luck, because it symbolizes "coming full circle," completing a year's cycle. It is primarily for this reason that the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year's Day brings good fortune.
Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures.
DragonFlower @ SoulQuest has a Great Post on Black-eyed Peas and Many other Traditions associated with Bringing in the New Year ~
The Hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity. Consuming Cabbage is also considered a potential harbinger of good luck. In some regions, Rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year's Day.
The Mid-night Cacophony ~
The idea of making deafening noise is to drive away the evil spirits who flocked to the living at this climactic season with a great wailing of horns and shouts and beating of drums. This is why at the stroke of midnight we hear the deafening cacophony of sirens, car horns, boat whistles, party horns, church bells, drums, pots and pans - anything that serves the purpose of producing a devil chasing din.
AULD LANG SYNE ~
The song, "Auld Lang Syne," playing in the background, is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year. At least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700's, it was first published in 1796 after Burns' death. Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired Burns to produce the modern rendition. An old Scotch tune, "Auld Lang Syne" literally means "old long ago," or simply, "the good old days."
Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to mind ? Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And auld lang syne !
Chorus.-For auld lang syne, my dear, For auld lang syne. We'll take a cup o' kindness yet, For auld lang syne.
So Tell Me,
Do You Have any Traditions You Do, On Either New Year's Eve or New Year's Day ?
This town is colder now, I think it's sick of us It's time to make our move, I'm shakin off the rust I've got my heart set on anywhere but here I'm staring down myself, counting up the years Steady hands, just take the wheel... And every glance is killing me Time to make one last appeal... For the life I lead
Stop and stare I think I'm moving but I go nowhere Yeah I know that everyone gets scared But I've become what I can't be, oh Stop and stare You start to wonder why you're 'here' not there And you'd give anything to get what's fair But fair ain't what you really need Oh, can u see what I see
They're tryin to come back, all my senses push Un-tie the weight bags, I never thought I could... Steady feet, don't fail me now Gonna run till you can't walk But something pulls my focus out And I'm standing down...
Stop and stare I think I'm moving but I go nowhere Yeah I know that everyone gets scared But I've become what I can't be, oh Stop and stare You start to wonder why you're here not there And you'd give anything to get what's fair But fair ain't what you really need Oh, you don't need
What u need, what u need...
Stop and stare I think I'm moving but I go nowhere Yeah I know that everyone gets scared But I've become what I can't be Oh, do u see what I see...
OneRepublic is an Americanpop rock band formed in Colorado. They have drawn mainstream attention since the release of their hit single, "Apologize".
Since summer in 2006, the band has consistently been ranked as one of the top musical acts on MySpace, due to high exposure within the online community. They were started by songwriter and record producer Ryan Tedder and his high school friend Zach Filkins in Colorado Springs. The group formed in 2003 with Ryan Tedder, Drew Brown, Zach Filkins, Eddie Fisher, and Tim Myers in Los Angeles. After signing a deal with Columbia Records they entered the studio in the summer of 2005 with Producer Greg Wells. After a brief stint on Columbia Records, they moved to Interscope Records/Mosley Music Group. Tim Myers left the group in 2007 and Brent Kutzle replaced him.
The group has recently finished recording their debut album entitled Dreaming Out Loud which was largely produced by Greg Wells (Mika, Rufus Wainwright, Deftones) with two songs produced by lead singer Ryan Tedder. It was released on November 20, 2007. Their follow up single to "Apologize" is "Stop and Stare" as announced on their MySpace page. In 2007, the group went on tour with various opening acts. In 2008, they will go on tour with Maroon 5, Brandi Carlile, and Ry Cuming.
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