New Year's Traditions!

Jocelyn Fulljames
Dec 30, 2022
2 min read

Hello all and Happy New Year!

Today we're going to talk about some New Year's traditions.

The champagne toast - The practice of bringing in the new year with some tasty booze is a tradition that's been around since the Roman empire. Julius Caesar is said to be the first to have a bit of the bubbly to welcome the New Year. While he wasn't drinking quite the same drink we enjoy today it was said to have a similar taste and texture!

Making a New Year's resolution - This is another tradition that's actually really old. This one dates back some 4,000 years ago to ancient Babylon! Back then resolutions were about paying your debts and returning any borrowed objects in the hopes that the gods would do you a solid. Today we make resolutions mostly to ourselves and about all kinds of topics! Below are the most popular resolutions people made last year. What will your resolution be?

Sing Auld Lang Syne - It's a classic! The poem was written by the national poet of Scotland, Robert Burns, back in 1788. The name literally translates from lowland Scottish to Old Long Since, which means for old times' sake or since long ago. Nobody knows who composed the music, but it's now a tradition at this time of the year. And it's ok if you don't know the words, there are several versions out there and according to Britannica Burns himself was flexible with the exact wording. So don't worry about it, just belt it!

Portrait of Robert Burns — Robert Burns, from Britannica

Bang pots and pans to drive away evil spirits at midnight- We did this every year when I was a kid and it was so much fun! Going through every room of the house making lots of noise was more than enough entertainment for me and my younger bro. We'd check closets and the entry to the attic too! Whether it's for evil spirits (ooh, spooky!) or just to let loose I recommend this activity.

Eating Grapes – This tradition comes to us from Spain and you can treat it as a time for a reflection or a nice snack or even a competition. The idea is to eat 12 grapes, 1 grape for each month of the year. Traditionally, 1 grape would be eaten with each of the 12 chimes from a clock striking midnight. You may want to use smaller grapes for this challenge, or be prepared to clean up some grape juice.

Watch the ball drop - No New Year's list would be complete without this one! There's nothing quite like counting down to the New Year with a few million of your closest friends! Seriously though, it's a pretty cool countdown and celebration whether you're watching the ball in Times Square or a different, local ball drop.