2011 - Bring It!

Welcome to the cusp of another New Year! Do you have plans for ringing in 2011? Family, personal or cultural traditions? When I was growing up, just a few suburbs away, in the 1970s, New Year's Eve generally meant frozen pizzas and egg rolls consumed (after cooking them, of course) in front of the TV. Guy Lombardo, Dick Clark, waiting for the Times Square ball to drop and then waiting another hour for local coverage to count down the new year. Not terribly exciting but that's what we had. In young adulthood, New Year's Eve became a glamorous, party night, an excuse to buy a new outfit and brave the wind chill for a night of dancing and merrymaking. A few years after that, I began singing with a number of pop bands in the area, so NYE became a working night, typically the longest of the year but also the most lucrative. I recall one particularly prosperous evening when 5 hours of singing netted me enough for a trip to London - wow.

Now, well, to be honest, I'm singing at my church on New Year's Eve and may have a quiet dinner with my aging parents. Children will be waiting breathlessly for Ryan Seacrest and Train to ring in the new year in New York - although I like Train a lot so I might wait up for that, too, if I can stand listening to Ke$ha. :') Dick Clark remains on the scene but debilitated by poor health. Guy Lombardo passed away 23 years ago but someone, somewhere, will be singing "Auld Lang Syne" on New Year's Eve, particularly in the United Kingdom. I'm certain frozen egg rolls will be enjoyed by millions and many a young woman will pull on a party dress to sing and dance. So New Year's traditions stay the same, we are the ones who change, perhaps.

I thought I'd look around and see what New Year traditions transpire in other places and cultures. Examples:

• In the Philippines, the well-rounded wear polka dots and eat round fruits, meant to ensure a prosperous coming year;
• In Denmark, partygoers jump off of chairs as the clock strikes twelve, intending to drive away bad spirits;
• From Scotland to Panama, many cultures send the old year packing by burning things in quite dramatic fashion. Also in Scotland, "It is considered especially lucky if a tall, dark, and handsome man is the first to enter your house after the new year is rung in." Can't argue with that!
  
• Japan celebrates with an enormously popular televised singing competition, "Kohaku Uta Gassen," in which teams of celebrity vocalists compete against each other while viewers at home cast their votes - that actually sounds pretty fun!;
• For those who prefer a more private way to mark the new year, many South Americans wear festively colored underwear. For example, red underwear is meant to bring love in the new year, while yellow will bring money. Does that mean orange will bring some of both? One can only hope.

Feel free to share your New Year's traditions with us here. Whether your New Year's Eve is mundane or over-the-top, I hope the year that follows brings you renewed health, happiness and prosperity.  Read more about unusual New Year's rituals from around the world on the Travel + Leisure Web site and from the Information Please almanac.