January 1st is the New Year's Day.
There's all kinds of traditions for 1st of January associated with that it's the first day of the year.
For example, some foods are considered lucky.
- USA Southern states: "peas for pennies, greens for dollars, and cornbread for gold"
- St. Basil's cake - Greek New Year's cake - there's a coin put in the cake (after it's baked, not baked into the cake), so be careful as you bite :-D The one who finds the coin gets good luck for the year. They also serve kollyva, "memorial wheat", to commemorate St. Basil and all the other passed beloveds. It's sort of a Day of the Dead.
St. Basil is a bit like St. Nicholas. He is expected to visit the home between the sundown of 31st of December and sundown of 1st of January. People leave food out for him, like milk and cookies to Santa, and he leaves gifts in the children's shoes. You could awaken all those St. Nicholas' day traditions. :-D
In Greek tradition it's St. Basil who is the gift bringer and protector of poor children. You could take a basket of goodies to some poor family this day, to give their new year a good start.
In Greece, St.Basil's day is celebrated by people visiting friends and relatives during the day, singing New Year's Carols (and the children go caroling and they get treat as reward). In the evening there's a big dinner, and usually a setting is left empty for St.Basil.
Calennig means New Year celebration/gift. The giving of gifts on New Year's Day is an ancient custom. In Wales children would call from door to door collection Calennig (New Year’s Gift). They would go from house to house, bearing good wishes for the health and prosperity during the year to come. This was symbolized by the skewered apples, stuck with corn and sprigs of evergreen, which they carried in their hands. Children would sing and receive small gifts of food or money for their trouble
January 1st is the Apple Gifting Day.
January 1st is the Z day - the alphabetical order is reversed, and people with name that starts with Z gets to go first :-D
Visiting friends and family on 1st of January is an old tradition in many places. As such, there's naturally superstitions related. The first visitor of the year should be a man, dark-haired, not have flat feet and be bringing gifts; enough for everyone in the household. (These gifts are food. Traditionally "cakes, bread and cheese".)
- as the coal represents warmth, it's not proper to bring fake coal or coal candy that can be put in Christmas stockings; it's better to take with one a bag of grill coal :-D (Or a burned matchstick - for symbolic reasons ;-))
- Scottish cheeses you must try!
Chamber's Book of Days about New Year's Day
January 1st is traditionally a Polar Bear Swim Day :-D
It's the National Bloody Mary day in USA
Probably, because Bloody Mary is commonly used as a pick-me-up, and people tend to party hard in New Year's Eve
In Philadelphia, they will be having a Mummers' Parade.
Chamber's Book of Days about New Year's Day
January 1st is traditionally a Polar Bear Swim Day :-D
It's the National Bloody Mary day in USA
Probably, because Bloody Mary is commonly used as a pick-me-up, and people tend to party hard in New Year's Eve
In Philadelphia, they will be having a Mummers' Parade.
In Wien they have a New Year's Day Strauss concert. The broadcast is illustrated with the Austrian royal ballet performing ball room dances.
How to have a Victorian Ball
Having a Viennese Ball
You should learn to dance Waltz, Mazurka, Polka and March. It brings so much more enjoyment to Strausses' music and gives you a good workout to begin the year with :-D If you do it in proper Victorian ballgown (as above), it's even better.
In Japan they celebrate their New Year, Gantan-Sai. It was celebrated at the same time as the Lunar New Year in Asia, but when Japan started following the Gregorian calendar, they moved the New Year to 1st of January.
The Japanese have a "daruma doll" - It is a wooden doll with empty eyes.
When you make a promise or commitment, you paint on one eye. When you
have fulfilled the promise, you paint in the other eye. Maybe you could
choose to wear an eye-patch until you have fulfilled your New Year's
Promise? Not to indulge in some pleasure of yours until you have reached
your goal? As a reward, you get to have the first cup of coffee of the
year, or eat candy or pizza, or wear your favorite shirt.
It's the Commitment Day. Of course.
So - most people don't keep their New Year's promises. They are like electoral promises, never meant to be kept either. But what if you took yourself seriously for a while? What if you seriously considered what to promise and made a real effort to keep your promise to yourself, and if you failed, take that seriously as well, and apologize, explain and make it up to yourself. After all, YOU are the most important person in your life who will be there come shine come rain, and who can't ever leave how ever rotten you are to them.
Brunei, Cameroon, Haiti and Sudan will celebrate their independence day.
So - most people don't keep their New Year's promises. They are like electoral promises, never meant to be kept either. But what if you took yourself seriously for a while? What if you seriously considered what to promise and made a real effort to keep your promise to yourself, and if you failed, take that seriously as well, and apologize, explain and make it up to yourself. After all, YOU are the most important person in your life who will be there come shine come rain, and who can't ever leave how ever rotten you are to them.
"The practice of making resolutions for the new year is thought to have come from the ancient Babylonians. They made promises to earn the favor of the gods, and start the year off right. They would reportedly vow to pay off debts, and return borrowed farm equipment."
- The Origins and Practices of Holidays; New Year's Day
Brunei, Cameroon, Haiti and Sudan will celebrate their independence day.
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