Galway Advertiser 2005/2005_12_15/GA_1512_E1_077.pdf 

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December 15 2005

NEW YEAR'S EVE

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It's another New Year...
Everyone is already talking about what they want to do for New Year's Eve. It's a special time of year, a night of celebrations, looking forward into the New Year, and reflecting on what the last one dealt out for us. It's a time we like to spend with loved ones, whether that be in a pub, a club, a hotel, or at home with family. New Year traditions stretch back as far as history allows us to see, it is actually the oldest of all the holidays. It has always been regarded as a time of celebration and happiness, read on to see how things have evolved down the centuries. In order to set the calendar right, the Roman senate, in 153 BC, declared January 1 to be the beginning of the new year. But tampering continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has come to be known as the Julian Calendar. It again established January 1 as the new year. But in order to synchronise the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days. tradition at that time to celebrate their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket, representing the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth. Although the early symbolise the birth of the baby Jesus. The use of an image of a baby with a New Year's banner as a symbolic representation of the new year was brought to early America by the Germans. They had used the effigy since the 14th century.

The Church's view
Although in the first centuries AD the Romans continued celebrating the new year, the early Catholic Church condemned the festivities as paganism. But as Christianity became more widespread, the early church began having its own religious observances concurrently with many of the pagan celebrations, and New Year's Day was no different. New Year's is still observed as the Feast of Christ's Circumcision by some denominations. During the Middle Ages, the Church remained opposed to celebrating New Year's. January 1 has been celebrated as a holiday by Western nations for only about the past 400 years. New Year traditions Other traditions of the season include the making of New Year's resolutions. That tradition also dates back to the early Babylonians. Popular modern resolutions might include the promise to lose weight or quit smoking, but the early Babylonians most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment. The tradition of using a baby to signify the new year was begun in Greece around 600 BC. It was their

It's a special time of year, a night of celebrations, looking forward into the New Year, and reflecting on what the last one dealt out for us.

Ancient New Years
New Year's was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4,000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon (actually the first visible crescent) after the vernal equinox (first day of spring). The beginning of spring is a logical time to start a new year. After all it is the season of rebirth, of planting new crops, and of blossoming. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary. The Babylonian new year celebration lasted for 11 days. Each day had its own particular mode of celebration, but it is safe to say that modern New Year's Eve festivities pale in comparison. The Romans continued to observe the new year in late March, but their calendar was continually tampered with by various emperors so that the calendar soon became out of synchronisation with the sun.

Christians denounced the practice as pagan, the popularity of the baby as a symbol of rebirth forced the Church to re-evaluate its position. The Church finally allowed its members to celebrate the new year with a baby, which was to

For luck in the New Year
Traditionally it was thought that people could affect the luck they would have throughout the coming year by what they

did or ate on the first day of the year. For that reason it has become common for people to celebrate the first few minutes of a brand New Year in the company of family and friends. Parties often last into the middle of the night after the ringing in of a new 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. It was particularly lucky if that visitor happened to be a tall darkhaired man. 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 symbolises `coming full circle', completing a year's cycle. For that reason the Dutch believe that eating doughnuts on New Year's Day will bring good fortune. Many parts of the US celebrate the new year by consuming black-eyed peas. These legumes are typically accompanied by either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. The hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolises prosperity. Cabbage is another good luck vegetable that is

consumed on New Year's Day by many. Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency. In some regions rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year's Day.

Auld Lang Syne
The song `Auld Lang Syne' 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 1700s, 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.

DISCONAUTS present SIDEWAZE in BAR903 this NEW YEARS EVE

903:05/06
Door tax 12. Tickets on sale in Bar 903. Doors 9pm til late. For table reservations & info call Emma on 091 565991 Draw for free iPod for all punters before 10.30. Cocktail promo in Bar903.

Deep, soulful, sexy house grooves with DJs on the night Padraic & Keith Disconaut & Damien G. Live percussion from Mark Logan and live trumpet from Ben Edwards (Basement Jaxx horn section)

Eyre Square, Galway

New Years Celebrations!

Ring in the New Year in style at the Connemara Coast! On arrival you will enjoy a Champagne Reception with Jazz followed by a sumptuous seven course gala banquet, then dance the night away to the fabulous Millers Crossing. At midnight more Champagne will be served and afterwards our resident DJ takes the floor until the early hours!

Don't miss it!
Dress: Black Tie Non Residents Welcome, 75 per person (Limited availability) Furbo, Galway. Ph: 091-592108 Fax: 592065
events@connemaracoast.ie www.sinnotthotels.com