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Thursday 5 January 2012

Happy New Year, 2012!!

Happy New Year!!

Now is the time for new resolutions and new beginnings.  

Are any of you thinking of New Year's Resolutions?  I found this on the Wikipedia Site and thought it was neat!

                              

Most Resolutions are about life style...loose weight, stop smoking, exercise, get out of debt....but how about

learning

something

new!?

This is actually in the top 10 Resolutions that people make, and one of the easiest, most motivating New Year's resolutions to keep. Also in the top 10 is:
  • enjoy life more
  • help other people 
  • get organized
Actually, we can do all these things with the Pathfinder program this year!

So, where exactly did New Year's Resolutions come from?

The tradition of the New Year's Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C.
Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar.
With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year.

The Romans named the first month of the year after Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and entrances.
He was always depicted with two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back. Thus he could look backward and forward at the same time. At midnight on December 31, the Romans imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to the new.

The Romans began a tradition of exchanging gifts on New Year's Eve by giving one another branches from sacred trees for good fortune. Later, nuts or coins imprinted with the god Janus became more common New Year's gifts.

The celebration of the New Year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago!!

In the years around 2000 BC, Babylonians celebrated the beginning of a new year on what is now March 23, although they themselves had no written calendar.
Late March actually is a logical choice for the beginning of a new year. It is the time of year that spring begins and new crops are planted. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary.

The Babylonian New Year celebration lasted for eleven days!! (Wow!! what a party!)  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.






If you want your own personal New Year's Resolution...
Have Fun!!

Send me your New Years Resolutions!  I will help you Learn Something New this year with Pathfinders!




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