Civilizations around the world have been celebrating the start of each new year for at least four millennia. Today, most New Year’s festivities begin on December 31 (New Year’s Eve), the last day of the Gregorian calendar, and continue into the early hours of January 1 (New Year’s Day). Common traditions include attending parties, eating special New Year’s foods, making resolutions for the new year and watching fireworks displays.
The earliest recorded festivities in honor of a new year’s arrival date back some 4,000 years to ancient Babylon. For the Babylonians, the first new moon following the vernal equinox—the day in late March with an equal amount of sunlight and darkness—heralded the start of a new year. They marked the occasion with a massive religious festival called Akitu (derived from the Sumerian word for barley, which was cut in the spring) that involved a different ritual on each of its 11 days. In addition to the new year, Atiku celebrated the mythical victory of the Babylonian sky god Marduk over the evil sea goddess Tiamat and served an important political purpose: It was during this time that a new king was crowned or that the current ruler’s divine mandate was symbolically renewed.
The early Roman calendar consisted of 10 months and 304 days, with each new year beginning at the vernal equinox; according to tradition, it was created by Romulus, the founder of Rome, in the eighth century B.C. A later king, Numa Pompilius, is credited with adding the months of Januarius and Februarius.
In many countries, New Year’s celebrations begin on the evening of December 31—New Year’s Eve—and continue into the early hours of January 1. Revelers often enjoy meals and snacks thought to bestow good luck for the coming year.
1. Times Square Ball Drop 2. Making Resolutions 3. New Year’s Kiss 4. Hoppin’ John 5. Auld Lang Syne 6. Midnight Countdown So, whatever your New Year’s traditions or Resolutions might be, enjoy the day, make memories and get ready for the New Year to come.
The Bull Shoals Lake White River Chamber of Commerce would like to announce recent business openings and ribbon cutting ceremonies for Bull Shoals. The Shoals Lodging and Condo Rentals opened the summer of 2022 and offer several 1 and 2-bedroom condos right on Bull Shoals Lake at the cove of Bull Shoals Lake Boat Dock right off Hwy 178.
ServSafe has been the industry standard since 1919 in training millions of people how to receive, store, prepare, and serve food safely. Through the Cooperative Extension Service, we offer training and certifications for ServSafe Manager, and ServSafe Instructor & Proctor programs. The Arkansas Department of Health is now requiring each food service facility to have at least one supervisory employee who has Certified Food Manager training.
Start your New Year with a bit of luck and nutritious eating. Try a few of these food-related traditions and then plan on growing a few of your own to enjoy.
Hello everyone, I hope you had a wonderful Merry Christmas and I hope everyone has a wonderful New Years. At our house the holidays were very nice and much needed time off. I hope everyone is doing good in health and in spirit. We are all doing well.
The Flippin School Board met Monday, December 19, at 6 p.m. in the Flippin School District Central Office to discuss the principal reports, hiring teachers, projects and transfers. Brent Mitchell, Curt Bryant, Stacie Goldsmith, along with Kelvin Hudson were in attendance. Roger Leonard and Brian Benedict were absent from the meeting.
