New Year, New Possibilities!

 

People around the world have been celebrating the start of each new year for thousands of years. In present times, most New Year celebrations begin on New Year’s Eve, or December 31, which is the last day marked on the Gregorian calendar. These festivities are continued all night and into the next day (New Year’s Day), January 1st of the new year. Celebratory events include parties, balls, sports, fireworks, and more. Each country, ethnicity and family may have their own unique New Year traditions, but one collective custom is to rejoice in the beginning of the new calendar year and all of the possibilities and opportunities that lie ahead.

 The following outlines some common New Year’s traditions:

1. The singing of “Auld Lang Syne” at midnight on New Year’s Eve – This popular tune is sung to toast the new year and means “old long ago” or “the good old days”.

2. Eating legumes – These are thought to resemble coins and indicate future financial success. Black-eyed peas are commonly found on tables in the southern United States.

3. The writing of resolutions – This custom can be traced back to ancient Babylonian times in which vows were made in order to earn the favor of the gods and start the year right.

4. Ball dropping in New York City’s Time Square – This iconic event has taken place nearly every year since 1907! People come from around the world to gather in the square and count down the last seconds of December 31. At this last second, the ball drops and symbolizes the beginning of the new year. Many towns and cities across the USA have developed their own rendition of the ball dropping and have organized public droppings of various items. Such items include a giant orange (Miami, FL),  a walleye fish (Port Clinton, OH),  a pickle (Dillsburg, PA) and Gumbo pot (New Orleans, LA) to name a few.

5. Fireworks – The noise and glorious colors have been around for centuries.

6. Football – Each year on New Year’s Day the Rose Bowl is held in Pasadena, California. The Tournament of Roses parade marks the beginning of the game and is filled with elaborately designed floats and entertainment.

 Those are just some of the many traditions celebrated in the United States. We would love to hear of your holiday traditions. Leave us a comment and let us know what we may have missed!

Because we have been celebrating the New Year holiday for as long as any of us has been alive, sometimes we just assume that it has always been around and always been the same. Here are some fun facts about the holiday that we bet you never knew!

  1. It has long been thought that the first person you see after ringing in the new year will bring you luck, good or bad, depending on if they are a friend or an enemy. This is why many people celebrate New Year’s Eve surrounded by friends and family.
  2. Cabbage is eaten on New Year’s Day because it is said that the leaves represent prosperity.
  3. Ring-shaped foods are said to bring good luck such as bagels or donuts.
  4. The modern ball that is dropped in Times Square is made from Waterford Crystal and weighs nearly 12,000 pounds! There are over 9,000 LED lights, but uses hardly any energy. The ball begins to drop at 11:59 and completes the journey exactly at midnight to ring in the New Year.
  5. The first ball was made of wood and iron and weighed approximately 700 pounds. It was dropped from a flagpole at midnight.

New Year’s Eve is an iconic celebration. Children around the world get excited to stay up “late” with the grown-ups and we look forward to a clean slate, fresh start, and new possibilities. Our New Year’s resolution is to offer our customers the most unique children’s shoe on the market and the best possible shopping experience. Whatever your plans may be to ring in the New Year, Stikii wishes you a safe and happy New Year filled with joy, happiness and good luck. We think 2012 will be the year for us and we cannot wait to see what the months have in store for our shoes, our company and our customers!