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reetings from Australia. 

Welcome to this Red-Letter Day. Below you will find today's global celebrations, birthdays and events.

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Carpe diem! (Seize the day!)

Pip Wilson

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Today is

Of all sounds of all bells, most solemn and touching is the peal which rings out the old year. I never hear it without a gathering up of my mind to a concentration of all the images that have been diffused over the past twelvemonth; all that I have done or suffered , performed or neglected, in that regretted time.
Charles Lamb (1775 - 1834), English poet

Ring out the old shapes of foul disease;
Ring out the narrowing lusts of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old;
Ring in the thousand years of peace.
Alfred, Lord Tennyson, English poet

Wassail! Wassail! over the town,
Our toast is white, our ale is brown:
Our bowl it is made of the maplin tree,
We be good fellows all: I drink to thee.
Traditional Gloucestershire wassailing song

Love and joy come to you,
And to your wassel too,
And God send you a happy New Year,
    A happy New Year,
And God send you a Happy New Year!
Our wassel cup is made of rosemary-tree,
So is your beer of the best barley.
English traditional children's wassailing song

Get up, goodwife, and shake your feathers,
And dinna think that we are beggars;
For we are bairns come out to play,
Get up and gie's our hogmanay!
Traditional Scottish wassailing song

Hogmanay
Trollolay
Give us of your white bread, and none of your grey.
Traditional Scottish children's soliciting rhyme

My feet's cauld, my shoon's thin,
Gie 's my cakes, and let me rin!
Traditional Scottish children's soliciting rhyme

If New Year's Eve night and wind blow south,
It betokeneth warmth and growth;
If west, much fish in the sea;
If north, much cold and storms there will be.
If east, the trees will bear much fruit;
If north-east, flee it, man and brute.
Traditional Scottish weather prediction rhyme

… the prefect Tarquinius supposed that Timothy had had great plenty of riches, which he demanded of Silvester, threatening him to the death but if he delivered them to him. And when he found certainly that Timothy had no great riches, he commanded to Saint Silvester to make sacrifice to the idols, and if he did not he would make him suffer divers torments. Saint Silvester answered: False, evil man, thou shalt die this night, and shalt have torments that ever shall endure, and thou shalt know, whether thou wilt or not, that he whom we worship is very God. Then Saint Silvester was put in prison, and the provost went to dinner. Now it happed that as he ate, a bone of a fish turned in his throat and stuck fast, so that he could neither have it down ne up, and at midnight died like as Saint Silvester had said, and then Saint Silvester was delivered out of prison.
'The Life of St Silvester', The Golden Legend (Aurea Legenda), compiled by Jacobus de Voragine, 1275, (' Englished by William Caxton, 1483')

I was awakened to the knowledge that I possessed a magical means of becoming conscious of and satisfying a part of my nature which had up to that moment concealed itself from me. It was an experience of horror and pain, combined with a certain ghostly terror, yet at the same time, it was the key to the purest and holiest spiritual ecstasy that exists.
English occultist Aleister Crowley, 'The Beast', describing an experience he had on December 31, 1896; Confessions of Aleister Crowley: An autohagiography

Democracy is not something you believe in or a place to hang your hat, but it's something you do. You participate. If you stop doing it, democracy crumbles.
Abbie Hoffman, at whose New York home the Youth International Party (Yippies) was formed on December 31, 1967

Abbie Hoffman is something akin to an American prophet.
President Jimmy Carter

In the late sixties we were so fed up we wanted to destroy it all. That's when we changed the name of America and stuck in the 'k.' The mood today is different, and the language that will respond to today's mood will be different. Things are so deteriorated in this society, that it's not up to you to destroy America, it's up to you to go out and save America. The same impulse that helped us fight our way out of one empire 200 years ago must help us get free of the Holy Financial Empire today. The transnationals – with their money in Switzerland, headquarters in Luxembourg, ships in tax-free Panama, natural resources all over the emerging world, and their sleepy consumers in the United States – do not have the interest of the United States at heart. Ronald Reagan and the CIA are traitors to America, they have sold it to the Holy Financial Empire. The enemy is out there, he's not in this room. People are allowed to have different visions and different views, but you have to have unity.
Abbie Hoffman; 'Reflections on Student Activism'

All the isms lead to schisms which lead to wasms.
Abbie Hoffman; ibid

More Abbie Hoffman quotes

There was the Youth International Party (yippies), minions of the absurd whose leaders failed last fall to levitate the Pentagon but whose antics at least leavened the grim seriousness of the New Leftists with much-needed humor.
TIME, September 6, 1968

By the end, everybody had a label – pig, liberal, radical, revolutionary ... If you had everything but a gun, you were a radical but not a revolutionary.
Jerry Rubin, Yippie leader

Supposing one day trucks travelled through the city announcing, "The war in Vietnam is over! The war is over! Turn on your radio for further information." Within two minutes everybody would be calling their mothers, "Hey Mom! The war's over!" Nixon would have to go on TV to reassure the American people that the war was still on.
Jerry Rubin

We create revolution by living it.
Jerry Rubin

Spread ideas that undercut the content world of Amerika. We must alienate middle-class Amerika. All watches and clocks will be destroyed; barbers will go to rehabilitation camps where they will grow their hair long.
Jerry Rubin

Free Speech is the right to yell theater in a crowded fire.
Yippie! proverb

December 31 is the 365^th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (366^th in leap years), and the last day of the Gregorian year.
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Auld lang control

'Auld Lang Syne' (Times Long Gone)

By Robbie Burns

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,   And never brought to min'? Should auld acquaintance be forgot,   And auld lang syne! CHORUS: For auld lang syne, my dear,   For auld lang syne, We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet   For auld lang syne.   We twa hae run about the braes,   And pu'd the gowans fine; But we've wander'd mony a weary fit   Sin' auld lang syne.   We twa hae' paidl'd i' the burn,   From mornin' sun till dine; But seas between us braid hae roar'd,   Sin' auld lang syne.   And there's a hand, my trusty fiere!   And gie's a hand o' thine! And we'll tak a right guid-willie waught,   For auld lang syne.   And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp!   And surely I'll be mine! And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet   For auld lang syne.

Should old acquaintance be forgot,   And never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot,   And times gone by!   CHORUS: For times gone by, my dear,   For times gone by, We'll take a cup of kindness yet   For times gone by.   We two have run about the hillsides,   And pulled the daisies fine; But we've wander'd many a weary foot   Since times gone by.   We two have paddled in the brook,   From dawn till dinner; But seas between us broad have roared,   Since times gone by.   And there's a hand, my trusty friend!   And give a hand of thine! And we'll take a right good-will drink,   For times gone by.   And surely you'll pay for your pint-cup!   And surely I'll pay for mine! And we'll take a cup of kindness yet   For times gone by.

(Thanks Diana Schuetz)

"Robert Burns forwarded a copy of the original song to the British Museum with the remark, "The following song, an old song, of the olden times, and which has never been in print, nor even in manuscript until I took it down from an old man's singing, is enough to recommend any air." (Gavin Grieg: Last Leaves of Traditional Ballads.) The verses were set to a pentatonic air, "I fee'd a lad at Michaelmas." Verses 2 and 3 are by Robert Burns; the others, much older, are anonymous."   Source

"Light be the turf on the breast of the heaven-inspired Poet who composed this glorious Fragment" wrote Burns to Mrs Dunlop on December 7, 1788

New Year's Eve

In many parts of the world the New Year is greeted with a lot of noise, sometimes made by church bells. Originally this was to frighten away evil spirits which might try to sneak into the New Year and try to spoil it. People in the Northern Hemisphere sometimes lit bonfires for the same reason.

New Year is celebrated at different times according to various calendars, eg Jewish, Chinese, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu.

In Denmark the New Year is brought in with even more noise than in most countries. Young people go around pounding on their friends' front doors. To raise the New Year spirit even more, they throw shards of pottery, collected throughout the previous year, against the sides of houses. And we thought we had it loud!

Greece

On New Year's Eve (Eve of St Basil in the Eastern Orthodox calendar), children sing kalanda, from door to door; traditionally, they carry an apple, an orange, a paper ship, a paper star and a green rod cut from a cornel-tree. They tap the family members on the back with the rod for luck. The householders give them treats. On New Year's day this continues, sometimes with customary acts such as stoking the fire and sprinkling wheat in the yard.

New Year's Resolutions

We have records from 4,000 years ago in Babylon of resolutions, as part of their New Year festivities. Often these were made publicly. To make good any outstanding debts and return anything borrowed were the most common. 

Today to lose weight and give up smoking are the most common, followed by – making good any outstanding debts and returning borrowed goods.

The ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans all had the tradition of parading the first babies born in the year. In the 14^th Century, the custom of showing a baby with a banner of the New Year around it began, in Germany. 

Watchnight (watch night) service

Eighteenth-century British evangelist John Wesley introduced the December 31 service among the Methodists; other denominations took it up. Watch night can actually be traced back to a sect of Christians known as the Moravians who held the first Watchnight Service in Herrnhut, Saxony, Germany, in 1732. A misconception has it that the custom began with African-Americans in 1862.

All over the world, people love to make a noise on the last midnight of the year. Church bells ring out in England (fitted with muffles until midnight, then allowed their full voice), and in Thailand the temple bells peal at midnight as people call out Kwam Suk Pee Mai (Happy New Year!). 

An old Icelandic custom has it that if the pantry window is left open on New Year's Eve, the pantry drift (a frost which is fine-grained and sweet to the taste), will come in and, when gathered and saved in a pot marked with a cross, will bring prosperity to the home. Icelanders used to believe that elves moved house on this night, and could be coerced into giving treasure to those who intercepted them at crossroads. 

The People of Nigeria allowed their Ndok ceremony, held biennially in December, to merge with Western New Year customs, as Ndok was a rite of renewal. Only the men engage in Ndok, which sees, as everywhere on New Year's Eve, much noisy, rowdy behaviour and, as in Iceland, people meeting at crossroads which are believed to be places of assembly for spirits. 

In Russia, Grandfather Frost (D'yed Moroz), who looks suspiciously like Santa Claus, and his assistant the Snow Maiden, Snegurochka (Snegourka), will pay a New Year's visit to children, bringing with them gifts. In Greece, however, children will have left out sweets, cakes and drink for St Basil, another Santa-like character, for it is his feast day. They'll even put a log in the fireplace so he can step easily down the chimney. In Armenia on December 31, goodies are lowered down the chimney on a rope.

New Year's revelling, however, has been most shaped by the otherwise generally sensible Scots, who really know how to kick up their heels to say "good riddance!" to the old year and "welcome!" to the new. The singing of 'Auld Lang Syne', is, of course as Scotch as whisky, and was recorded from the oral tradition by the Scottish national poet, Robbie Burns. Now, all over the world, people mouth the words like football players pretending the national anthem before a game. Despite its difficult words, it is one of the world's best known songs. 

The Scots call this season the "daft days" or Hogmanay, a word which might derive from practically anything if you listen to the experts, such as the Greek for 'holy month' and the French for 'man is born'. 

While some New Year's customs go back to ancient Europe and even the Middle East – we know, for example, that 4,000 years ago the Babylonians made New Year's resolutions – the Scots put their stamp on it, for they always thought it was a bigger deal than Christmas. They have yet to convince the rest of the world, however, to indulge in the Hogmanay sport of 'first-footing', in which it is thought to be good luck if the first person over one's threshold in the New Year comes in the front door, is male, without eye trouble, not splay- or flat-footed, fair haired, carrying a lump of coal and a bottle of Scotch, and leaves by the back door. (In 1966, 19-year-old first-footer Alex Cleghorn was walking on Govan Rd, Glasgow, with his two brothers, when suddenly he disappeared and was not seen again. Daft days indeed!) According to one source, "It was traditional for men to dress in animal skins, wear horns or antlers, and smoke sticks called Hogmanays to ward off evil spirits." Over on the Greek island of Carpathos it is a white dog they have to rush inside at the stroke of midnight.

Australians, with their keen sense of culture and modernity, tend not to bother with the lumps of coal, white dogs, elves and crossroads, tending instead to get blithering drunk (like the wassailers of old England, the door-to-door drinkers whose name came from the cry Wass hael!, which approximates to Cheers!) and to pretend to have an ab-fab time. A few, however, will see the New Year in at Watch Night services in churches, a custom more or less started by the abstemious John Wesley.

"The Eve of New Year [in Scotland] was known as Oidhche Challuinn, and New Year's Day as La Challuinn. First Footing is still carried out, as in other parts of the Highlands, although, as elsewhere, it is a dying custom. Up to the beginning of the century at least, the festivities of New Year's Eve were fully in operation and people went round the houses in every town shop carrying dried cow-hides and chanting special rhymes continuously. They beat the skins with sticks and struck the walls of the houses with clubs; this ritual was believed to have an apotropaic effect and to keep at bay the fairies and evil spirits and hostile forces of every kind. The part of the hide used was the loose flap of the beasts neck; this was called in Gaelic caisean-uchd. This they used to singe in the fire and present it to the members of the family, each in turn; every member of the household was required to smell it as a charm against all things evil and harmful."   Source

"... Sir John Rhys in his examination of Manx folklore stopped short in his explanation of the superstition of the first-foot, because he had heard that, while in the Isle of Man it was attached to a dark man, elsewhere it was attached to a fair man. Of the examples where, on New Year's morning, it is held to be unlucky to meet a dark person, I may mention Lincolnshire, Durham, Yorkshire, and Northumberland. It is, on the contrary, lucky to meet, as first-foot, a dark-haired man in Lancashire, the Isle of Man, and Aberdeenshire. In these cases we get the element of 'dark' or 'fair' as the varying factor of the superstition; but instances occur in Sutherlandshire, the West of Scotland, and in Durham, where the varying factor rests upon sex—a man being lucky and a woman being unlucky."   Source: Folklore as an Historical Science

Hogmanay website    More on Hogmanay    Times Square, New York City, NYE celebrations

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Wassail

   The King doth wake tonight and takes his rouse, keeps wassail.
      Shakespeare: Venus and Adonis, 697

The head of the house used to assemble his family around a bowl of spiced ale, nicknamed 'lamb's-wool'. He drank their healths, then all did so from the bowl as it passed around. The wassail bowl's ingredients are hot ale, spices, sugar, eggs and roasted apples. Try this old recipe:

Wassail cup

Ingredients
2 of 7.5 cinnamon sticks
4 cloves
3 blades mace
1 ginger root
1 level teaspoon nutmeg
4 apples
125 g sugar
300ml cups brown ale
300ml cider
 
Method
Core apples and sprinkle with sugar and water. Bake at 190 C for 30 mins or until tender. Mix ale, cider and spices. Heat but do not boil. Leave for 30 mins. Strain and pour over roasted apples. Serve in a punch bowl.
Nicholas Culpeper; Herbal

Alternatively, here's a recipe for Sylvester Punch, from Austria:

Red burgundy (count one bottle for 6 people)
Equal amount of hot tea
12 cloves
Rind of 1 lemon
2 tbsp sugar to each bottle of wine
2 cinnamon sticks to each bottle of wine
 
Pour the liquid into an enamel pot, add the cloves, the thinly pared rind of 1 lemon, the sugar, and the cinnamon. Heat over a low flame but do not allow to boil. At the last moment add the tea. Serve hot.
Trapp, Maria Augusta, Around the Year with the Trapp Family, NY, Pantheon, 1955, p69

The word 'wassail' comes from the Old English waes hael, be whole, be well. It's a salutation, especially over the cup ('wassail bowl') of mulled wine at New Year.

There is a legend to explain its origin: a beautiful Saxon maiden named Rowena presented Prince Vortigen with a bowl of wine while toasting him, using the words "Waes hael". The wassail bowl was carried about by young women who went from door to door, singing songs composed for the purpose; they presented the liquor to the householders, who were expected to pay for the favour.  

The custom was kept in the monasteries. The poculum caritatis, or large wassail bowl, was placed in front of the abbot at the upper end of the refectory table. The same ritual was observed.

In Scotland, the wassail custom lasted longer than in England, well into the 19^th Century. As midnight approached, a hot pint was prepared, ie spiced and sweetened hot ale, with an  infusion of spirits. As the clock struck, the bowl was passed around and all said "Happy New Year". There was also a song:

Wel may we a' be,
Ill may we never see,
Here's to the king
And the gude companie!  etc

The elders of the family would take the kettle as well as shortbread, buns, bread, cheese and so on, and visit neighbours. If they met others on the way, they would taste from each other's kettles. Then first-footing would happen, to those who were first in a house.  

More on Scottish customs, and wassailing, and more on wassail, in the Book of Days

The Wassail page

Japan: Beethoven's Ninth is Japan's Number One

Japanese people love Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, and regularly play it at New Year's celebrations. In December, 1987, there were 139 performances of the symphony. One TV station broadcasts weekly lessons at this time of year on how to sing the Ninth.

When did this start? Nobody seems to know. Possibly from German prisoners-of-war imprisoned in Japan in WWI.

Such is the Japanese love for this piece of music, the world standard for compact discs, a maximum of 72 minutes of playing time, was set in 1970 by the Japanese, to be sure that the Ninth could fit on a single CD.

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The Twelve Days of Christmas Day 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12 On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me Six geese a-laying, Five golden rings. Four colly birds, three French hens, two turtle doves And a partridge in a pear tree.     Feast day of St Sylvester I, pope Sylvester (or Silvester) was the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church (in the reign of Emperor Constantine I [Constantine the Great]) who built the Lateran and other churches. He sent legates to the First Council of Nicaea, and was involved in the controversy over Arianism. The spurious Donation of Constantine was supposedly given to Saint Sylvester. St Sylvester was pope for twenty-one years and eleven months (January 31, 314 - December 31, 335). He died on this day in 335 after a life of fighting dragons and so on (see from Golden Legend, above). On January 31, 314, Sylvester, a Roman citizen, became Pope, a few days after his election and after Emperor Constantine granted toleration to the Christian Church by enacting the Edict of Milan in 313. It was an easy succession. Sylvester did act as counsellor and spiritual director of Constantine. His long pontificate of twenty-one years is remembered in particular for the Council of Nicaea, but the story of his having baptised Constantine is pure fiction, as contemporary evidence shows the emperor to have received this rite near Nicomedia at the hands of Eusebius, bishop of that city. Constantine, while still pagan, was attacked by a kind of leprosy which soon covered his entire body. It is said that Constantine had been told by his doctor that the best way to cure leprosy was to bathe in the blood of children. One night Saint Peter and Saint Paul, shining with light, appeared to him and commanded him to call for Pope Sylvester, who would cure him by giving him Baptism. In effect, Pope Sylvester instructed the royal neophyte and baptised him. According to this tale, the emperor was healed, and in gratitude granted the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica (of course this is not true; Constantine postponed his baptism until his deathbed). These lands became known as the Donation of Constantine and formed the basis of the future Papal States. In art, St Sylvester is shown in various scenes with Emperor Constantine. He might also be shown trampling a dragon; with an angel holding a cross and olive branch (the peace of the Church); with Saint Romana. Sylvester and the dragon "In this time it happed that there was at Rome a dragon in a pit, which every day slew with his breath more than three hundred men. Then came the bishops of the idols unto the emperor and said unto him: O thou most holy emperor, sith the time that thou hast received christian faith the dragon which is in yonder fosse or pit slayeth every day with his breath more than three hundred men. Then sent the emperor for Saint Silvester and asked counsel of him of this matter. Saint Silvester answered that by the might of God he promised to make him cease of his hurt and blessure of this people. Then S Silvester put himself to prayer, and Saint Peter appeared to him and said: Go surely to the dragon and the two priests that be with thee take in thy company, and when thou shalt come to him thou shalt say to him in this manner: Our Lord Jesu Christ which was born of the Virgin Mary, crucified, buried and arose, and now sitteth on the right side of the Father, this is he that shall come to deem and judge the living and the dead, I commend thee Sathanas that thou abide him in this place till he come. Then thou shalt bind his mouth with a thread, and seal it with thy seal , wherein is the imprint of the cross. Then thou and the two priests shall come to me whole and safe, and such bread as I shall make ready for you ye shall eat. Thus as Saint Peter had said, Saint Silvester did. And when he came to the pit, he descended down one hundred and fifty steps, bearing with him two lanterns, and found the dragon, and said the words that Saint Peter had said to him, and bound his mouth with the thread, and sealed it, and after returned, and as he came upward again he met with two enchanters which followed him for to see if he descended, which were almost dead of the stench of the dragon, whom he brought with him whole and sound, which anon were baptized, with a great multitude of people with them. Thus was the city of Rome delivered from double death, that was from the culture and worshipping of false idols, and from the venom of the dragon." The Golden Legend (Aurea Legenda), compiled by Jacobus de Voragine, 1275, ('Englished by William Caxton, 1483');'The Life of St Sylvester' Saints, dragons and serpents in the Book of days    List of popes   Forged 'Donation of Constantine' From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The so-called Donation of Constantine was long ago shown to be spurious, but the document is of very considerable antiquity, and might have been forged in Rome between 752 and 777. The Donation of Constantine (Latin, Constitutum Donatio Constantini) is a fraudulent Roman imperial edict, supposedly issued by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 324 CE, which purported to grant Pope Sylvester I and his successors sovereignty and spiritual authority over Rome, Italy, and the entire Western Roman Empire. The legend claims that the donation was Constantine's reward to Sylvester for curing him of leprosy by a miracle. Constantine moved the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Constantinople, which became the centre of power of the Eastern Roman Empire, later the Byzantine Empire. Were the document genuine, the popes would have ruled as emperors in the West; a succession of Western Emperors who were not popes after Constantine suggests that the document was false. The Popes used the Donation to bolster their powers and their territorial claims as prince bishops in medieval Italy. The Italian humanist Lorenzo Valla proved that the Donation could not be genuine in 1440 by analysing its language, and showing that the Latin in the document could not have been written in the year 324. Currently it is thought that the document was written during the papacy of Stephen II, around 752, when the Roman Catholic Church needed something to bolster its authority against threats by secular powers.   Sylvesterabend: Austrian celebrations    Austrians traditionally consider this a rauchnacht, or smoke-night, on which all animals and rooms in houses must be ritually purified with holy water and the smoke of incense. Major towns host Sylvester balls. Before the ball, Schweinebraten für Glück (roast pork for luck) and afterwards Sülze, little pig-shaped cakes. Villages too small to hold balls have Glühwein (Gluehwein, or glow-wine, much like English mulled wine) parties, and have fireworks. A masked figure called the Sylvester (a kind of Green Man) hides in the corners of inns and leaps out when a young man or woman passes to give them a kiss. The Sylvester wears a wreath of mistletoe, perhaps an emblem of fertility which he bestows with the kisses. When midnight comes, he is driven out of the room as a representative of the old year.   Hot Apple Wine "Heisse Ebbelwei" (Traditional Frankfurt Recipe) Ingredients 1 Liter Apple Wine 1/8 Liter water 60 grams sugar (approx 2oz) 1/4 stick cinnamon 3 cloves Peelings of half a lemon or two lemon slices Preparation Bring the sugar, spices and water to a boil. (instead of the water experts say that you really should use apple wine for a better flavor) Then let this mixture steep for 30 minutes. finally, mix in the remainder of the apple wine and carefully reheat to just under the boiling point. Gluehwein (Traditional Glow Wine)   Use the same ingredients and methods, but substitute a good red wine for apple wine.  If desired, flavor with lemon or orange juice to taste. Glühwein is sometimes also made from raspberry, blueberry and blackberry wines.   Source Tyrol Men dressed like bears dance in the streets. If they strike the shoulder of a man, it's acceptable, but if they touch a woman she will be pregnant within the year. Switzerland Traditionally, whoever is last to rise is Silvester in the home, and whoever comes last to school is Silvester there.   Silvesterkläuse (Silvesterklause), Urnäsch, Switzerland (Dec 31 and Jan 13) "The tradition of the Urnäsch Silvesterkläuse, a custom over 200 years old, has developed from simple begging in disguise into an expression of creative handwork. Today, the Kläuse wear robes and masks which require a great deal of time and effort to make. "Three very different groups must be distinguished: the Schöne (beautiful), of whom more will be said, the Wüeschte (ugly), who wear natural disguises in the form of pine branches, moss, and frightening masks, and the Schö-Wüeschte (less ugly), who use the same materials for their disguise as the 'ugly ones' but look less so. "In the evening, most of them meet in small groups and proceed from house to house. Singing and ringing their bells, they wish the families a prosperous year. They receive small gifts of money which help to cover the cost of the costumes and refreshments ... "The event takes place in similar form on two separate days, New Year's Eve and January 13."   Source Silvesterklause photos at flickr   Day of Sekhmet, Kemet, ancient Egypt Today was the Lucky Day of Sekhmet, the lion-headed goddess whose cult centre was Memphis. Nursing mothers prayed to her to let down their milk. Aztec Malinalli Day A day for persevering against all odds and for creating alliances that will survive the test of time. The New Year baby The custom of showing a baby wrapped in a banner proclaiming the New Year began in 14th-Century Germany. The old man on so many New Year postcards is Father Time, who was known to the Greeks as Chronos (Kronos) and to the Romans as