History of New Year's Celebrations

Welcome to 2025.  This has become a traditional time of celebration.  We party on New Year's Eve and celebrate the moment the clock strikes midnight signaling the beginning of a new year.

And, of course, when the year 2000 arrived, we celebrated for twenty-four hours as each time zone around the world welcomed the new millennium on live television broadcasts.

But why and how did the New Year's celebrations become part of our annual routine?  The earliest recorded account of a celebration in honor of the new year dates back four thousand years to ancient Babylon.  For the Babylonians, the first new moon following the vernal (spring) equinox announced the arrival of the new year.  They celebrated this spring time event with a massive eleven day religious festival called Akitu.  It was during this time that a new king was crowned or the current ruler's mandate renewed.

Throughout antiquity, civilizations around the world developed more sophisticated calendars with the first day of the year associated with an agricultural or astronomical event.  For example, in Egypt the year began with the annual flooding of the Nile which coincided with the rising of the star Sirius.  In China, the new year occurred with the second new moon after the winter solstice…a day they still celebrate.

The early Roman calendar had 10 months and 304 days with each new year beginning at the vernal equinox.  Tradition holds that it was created by Romulus, the founder of Rome, in the eighth century B.C.  Numa Pompilius, a later king, is credited with adding the months of Januarius and Februarius.  Over the ensuing centuries, the Roman calendar grew out of sync with the sun.  In 46 B.C., Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar which closely resembles the more modern Gregorian calendar used today by most countries.

As part of his reform, Julius Caesar declared January 1 as the first day of the year and Romans celebrated by exchanging gifts, decorating their homes, and attending raucous parties.  In medieval Europe, Christian leaders temporarily replaced January 1 as the first day of the year with days carrying more religious significance, such as December 25 as the anniversary of Christ's birth and March 25 as the Feast of the Annunciation.  It was Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 who re-established January 1 as New Year's Day.

In many countries, New Year's celebrations begin on New Year's Eve and continue into the early hours of January 1^st.  These celebrations often include specific foods that are said to bring good luck for the coming year—grapes in Spain, round fruits in the Philippines, suckling pig in Austria, soba noodles in Japan, rice pudding in Norway, and black-eyed peas in the southern United States.  Other customs that are common worldwide include making new year resolutions (a practice started by the Babylonians) and watching fireworks displays.

In the United States, the most famous New Year's tradition is the dropping of the giant ball in New York City's Times Square.  This event, first instituted in 1906, occurs at the stroke of midnight.  The original giant ball was made of iron and wood weighing 400 pounds.  A total of 7 versions of the Ball have been designed over the more than a century since the first drop of the ball occurred.

Today's giant ball is a brightly patterned sphere 12 feet in diameter and weighing nearly 12,000 pounds.  Each year, the 2688 intricate Waterford crystals that make up the skin of the huge orb are replaced with new ones.  192 Waterford Crystal triangles are the Gift of Goodwill design of three pineapples signifying the traditional image of hospitality and goodwill. 192 are the Gift of Harmony design of small rosette cuts flowing into each other in beautiful harmony. 192 are the Gift of Serenity design of butterflies flying peacefully above a crystal meadow capturing the spirit of serenity. 192 are the Gift of Kindness design consisting of a circle of rosettes symbolizing unity with the fronds reaching out in an expression of kindness. 192 are the Gift of Wonder design composed by a faceted starburst inspiring our sense of wonder. 192 are the Gift of Fortitude design of diamond cuts on either side of a crystal pillar to represent the finer attributes of resolve, courage, and spirit necessary to triumph over adversity. The remaining triangles are the Gift of Imagination design with a series of intricate wedge cuts that are mirrored reflections of each other inspiring our imagination.

The 2,688 Waterford crystal triangles are bolted to 672 LED modules which are attached to the aluminum frame of the ball.  The ball is capable of displaying a palette of more than 16 million colors and billions of patterns that create a spectacular kaleidoscope effect as the ball drops down a flagpole at the stroke of midnight Eastern Standard Time.

So, however you celebrate this year's arrival of the new year…I wish everyone a safe, healthy,  and happy 2025. 

 

The Legend of St. Nicholas

Who is that man in red? The man who, every Christmas Eve, brazenly breaks into people's homes, helps himself to cookies and milk, and leaves things behind resulting in a mess of wrapping paper and ribbon for others to clean up the next morning. Eight full grown reindeer and a heavily laden sleigh can't be good for the roof. Soot from a chimney tracked all over the floor…something else left behind for others to clean.

Yet every year we anxiously anticipate his arrival, track his progress through the skies, and welcome him into our homes.

Santa Claus can be traced back many centuries to a monk named St. Nicholas. It is believed that Nicholas was born sometime around 280 A.D. in Patara, near Myra in modern-day Turkey. Much admired for his piety and kindness, St. Nicholas became the subject of many legends. It is said that he gave away all of his inherited wealth and traveled the countryside helping the poor and sick. One of the best known of the St. Nicholas stories is that he saved three poor sisters from being sold into slavery or prostitution by their father when he provided them with a dowry so they could be married. Over the course of many years, Nicholas' popularity spread and he became known as the protector of children and sailors. His feast day is celebrated on the anniversary of his death, December 6. This was traditionally considered a lucky day to make large purchases or to get married. By the Renaissance, St. Nicholas was the most popular saint in Europe. Even after the Protestant Reformation, when the veneration of saints began to be discouraged, St. Nicholas maintained a positive reputation, especially in Holland.

Sinter Klaas Comes to New York

St. Nicholas made his first inroads into American popular culture towards the end of the 18th century. In December 1773, and again in 1774, a New York newspaper reported that groups of Dutch families had gathered to honor the anniversary of his death.

The name Santa Claus evolved from his Dutch nickname, Sinter Klaas, a shortened form of Sint Nikolaas (Dutch for Saint Nicholas). In 1804, John Pintard, a member of the New York Historical Society, distributed woodcuts of St. Nicholas at the society's annual meeting. The background of the engraving contains now-familiar Santa images including stockings filled with toys and fruit hung over a fireplace. In 1809, Washington Irving helped to popularize the Sinter Klaas stories when he referred to St. Nicholas as the patron saint of New York in his book, The History of New York. As his prominence grew, Sinter Klaas was described as everything from a rascal with a blue three-cornered hat, red waistcoat, and yellow stockings to a man wearing a broad-brimmed hat and a "huge pair of Flemish trunk hose."

Shopping Mall Santas

Gift-giving, mainly centered around children, has been an important part of the Christmas celebration since the holiday's rejuvenation in the early 19th century. Stores began to advertise Christmas shopping in 1820, and by the 1840s, newspapers were creating separate sections for holiday advertisements, which often featured images of the newly-popular Santa Claus. In 1841, thousands of children visited a Philadelphia shop to see a life-size Santa Claus model. It was only a matter of time before stores began to attract children, and their parents, with the lure of a peek at a live Santa Claus. In the early 1890s, the Salvation Army needed money to pay for the free Christmas meals they provided to needy families. They began dressing up unemployed men in Santa Claus suits and sending them into the streets of New York to solicit donations. Those familiar Salvation Army Santas have been ringing bells on the street corners of American cities ever since.

A Santa by Any Other Name

18th-century America's Santa Claus was not the only St. Nicholas-inspired gift-giver to make an appearance at Christmastime. Similar figures were popular all over the world. Christkind or Kris Kringle was believed to deliver presents to well-behaved Swiss and German children. Meaning Christ child, Christkind is an angel-like figure often accompanied by St. Nicholas on his holiday missions. In Scandinavia, a jolly elf named Jultomten was thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats. British legend explains that Father Christmas visits each home on Christmas Eve to fill children's stockings with holiday treats. Pere Noel is responsible for filling the shoes of French children. In Russia, it is believed that an elderly woman named Babouschka purposely gave the wise men wrong directions to Bethlehem so that they couldn't find Jesus. Later, she felt remorseful, but could not find the men to undo the damage. To this day, on January 5, Babouschka visits Russian children leaving gifts at their bedsides in the hope that one of them is the baby Jesus and she will be forgiven. In Italy, a similar story exists about a woman called La Befana, a kindly witch who rides a broomstick down the chimneys of Italian homes to deliver toys into the stockings of lucky children. 

The Ninth Reindeer

Rudolph, "the most famous reindeer of all," was born over a hundred years after his eight flying counterparts. The red-nosed wonder was the creation of Robert L. May, a copywriter at the Montgomery Ward department store.

In 1939, May wrote a Christmas-themed story-poem to help bring holiday traffic into his store. Using a similar rhyme pattern to Moore's 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, May told the story of Rudolph, a young reindeer who was teased by the other deer because of his large, glowing red nose. But, when Christmas Eve turned foggy and Santa worried that he wouldn't be able to deliver gifts that night, the former outcast saved Christmas by leading the sleigh with the light of his red nose. Rudolph's message—that given the opportunity, a liability can be turned into an asset—proved popular. Montgomery Ward sold almost two and a half million copies of the story in 1939. When it was reissued in 1946, the book sold over three and half million copies. Several years later, one of May's friends, Johnny Marks, wrote a short song based on Rudolph's story (1949). It was recorded by Gene Autry and sold over two million copies. Since then, the story has been translated into 25 languages and been made into a television movie, narrated by Burl Ives, which has charmed audiences since 1964.

SPARKLE OF GLASS—Character Interview

Today I'm welcoming Darvi Stanton and Rance Coulter to my blog, the main characters from SPARKLE OF GLASS, my new contemporary romance released December 4, 2024, from The Wild Rose Press.

Welcome Darvi and Rance. Thank you for taking time from your busy schedules to be here with us today.

Darvi:  It's our pleasure.

Rance:  Thanks for the invitation. What's on your mind? What would you like to know?

Well, let's start with how you first met? Do you want to take that question, Darvi?

Rance:  Uh Oh, (smiles and shakes his head) I have a feeling I'm not going to come out of this unscathed.

Why do you say that? Was your first meeting…uh, awkward?

Darvi:  Awkward? (laughs) That's putting it mildly. How about full on confrontational?

That sounds like an interesting story. What happened?

Darvi:  I was new to the coastal town of Sandy Cove having just moved to Oregon from Laguna Beach, California. I was lucky enough to have been hired to design and construct all the stained glass windows for the renovation of a Victorian style bed and breakfast inn. I was very excited about this new project and looking forward to getting started.

Wasn't there some problem with you being hired by the inn's owner?

Darvi: I was aware that the contractor on the project wanted someone else hired, someone he had previously worked with and whose work he trusted, but the inn's owner overruled the contractor and hired me directly. So, not only did I have a huge project to do, I now had the added task of needing to win over the contractor and convince him I knew what I was doing.

Rance:  And that's when I inadvertently stepped into the middle of things, not knowing who this stranger was…(reaches for her hand and gives it a squeeze) or that she would end up being the person I wanted to be with for the rest of my life.

What did you do?

Darvi: He verbally accosted me on the main street of town, accusing me of stealing his parking space. I had legally parked in front of the art supply store, which is where I was going, on a street with no parking restrictions. I thought he was not only extremely rude but also very arrogant. His aggressive attitude sparked my anger. Our first face-to-face encounter, before either of us even knew who the other was, resulted in conflict. It was later that day, when I met with the inn's owner and the contractor, that I discovered the identity of this rude obnoxious man. He was the contractor I needed to convince that I was the right person for this job. Definitely not the best start to a new project.

But you got your problems straightened out and everything went smoothly from there?

Darvi and Rance: (laugh simultaneously) Not even close.

Darvi: We managed to settle into a mostly compatible work relationship.

Rance: We accepted and appreciated each other's work on the inn project. But other than that…

Darvi: Our personal interactions were very much up and down. He continued to hide behind his aggressive arrogance…

Rance: And she buried herself behind a wall of anger. But in spite of that, there was an irresistible force pulling us together. Something saying we were meant to be together.

Darvi: Sometimes it was difficult to balance personal time and business. There used to be enough hours in the day for everything, but suddenly time had to be allocated. So much time for work, so much time for us.

Rance: But we managed to get the project finished on time and on budget. Everyone involved was very pleased with the results. The invitation only grand opening was a huge success.

Darvi: The future seemed all sunshine and love, until…(closes eyes as Rance pulls her into his arms)

Sounds as if you each had your own personal issues, emotional baggage from the past.

Rance: (slight frown as thoughtful look crosses his face) Yes. For my part, past issues that I'd been carrying around with me far too long, for too many years. Issues that almost tore us apart until I came to my senses and realized what I was about to lose.

Darvi: I was devastated. I had moved to Oregon to get away from an emotionally destructive situation from my past and suddenly found myself in a repeat pattern. I didn't think I'd be able to survive the turmoil and upheaval a second time.

Obviously everything worked out because here you are. But what kind of emotional baggage were each of you carrying around that could have that much of a negative impact on your individual lives? And how did you manage to work your way through it?

Rance: For the answer to that…

Darvi: You'll need to read the book.

(laughs) Apparently that's as much explanation as I'm going to get from the two of you. Thank you Darvi and Rance for visiting my blog today.

Blurb:

Putting a painful past behind her, Darvi Stanton has a new job in a small coastal town in Oregon. Designing the stained glass windows for a Victorian-style inn under renovation is right up her alley. She’s determined to impress the owner in spite of the obnoxious, know-it-all contractor with gorgeous eyes and a charming smile.

Rance Coulter had another artist in mind for the decorative windows of his new project, someone with more experience, someone less…attractive. When he’s overruled, he gives in grudgingly, but they clash over every decision. The only time she’s not arguing with him is when he’s kissing her.

Will mixing business with pleasure lead to ruin or a happily ever after.

G-Excerpt #5

Before she lost her nerve, Darvi whirled around to face him, offering a tentative smile. “Would you like some coffee or tea? It won’t take but a moment for me to fix it.”

The surprise in his eyes gave way to pleasure. “I’d like that very much. Coffee, if that’s okay.”

“Coffee it is. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be right back.”

Darvi busied herself in the kitchen making coffee, gathering cups, and finding a serving tray to carry all of it. She tried not to dwell on the fact that she had let down her guard, allowed Rance into her personal domain for a nonbusiness purpose, had even been the one to suggest he stay for coffee. She knew if she stopped to consider her actions, she would ask Rance to leave, removing all temptation.

She paused for a moment, her brow furrowed in concentration. Panic stabbed through her as she looked toward the studio where he waited. Temptation—exactly what he represented, an overwhelming temptation to which she must not succumb.

She glanced down at her hands, surprised by the way they trembled. Her eyes misted as she fought back the tears. I can’t become involved with him. I could never tell him about what happened. He would never understand about…

G-Excerpt #6

She took a deep breath, held it for a second, then slowly exhaled. She finally started to speak, her words cloaked in defensiveness. “I had my life under control until I ran into you. I’m taking care of some simple errands and you turn it into a major confrontation over some stupid parking spot on a public street. You’ve been going out of your way to antagonize me at every opportunity. I know you wanted George to hire someone else to do the stained glass, but he hired me in spite of your objections. I have a signed contract. The least you can do is make an effort to be decent about it.”

Her words caught him off guard. “I don’t have any—”

“I’m not a helpless little thing who cries at the drop of a hat. I’ve always been able to take care of myself, handle any situation that came along. You’re pushing me too hard, asking too much…demanding too much, things that have nothing to do with you or with this job. Things that are none of your business.”

The tears welled in her eyes as her veneer began to crumble. “You apparently believe that I should just trust you because you say so even though you’ve done nothing to show me your sincerity or that you can actually be trusted. How do I know what your intentions are? Why should I believe that you will keep anything I say to you in confidence rather than using it to humiliate me? Stop pushing me so hard. It’s very difficult for me…very painful.”

The arrogant Rance persona started to speak, the spontaneous outburst coming out as a harsh sound. “Pushing you? I haven’t—” The rest of the sentence stuck in his throat. His totally inappropriate reaction to what she said meshed with his own unspoken fears. He pulled her into his embrace as a mass of apprehension swirled around inside him. What to think…what to do…he didn’t have any answers. He stroked her hair as he thought over what she had said. He had no idea he had been pushing her that hard. Or that she harbored a secret so frightening for her that even what he thought of as teasing banter had been too painful for her to handle.

And her comment about not trusting him, fearing he would turn her secret against her in such a callous manner… He didn’t like hearing it, knew he would never do such a thing, but quickly realized why she would think it.

Buy Links:

https://www.amazon.com/Sparkle-Glass-Shawna-Delacorte-ebook/dp/B0DHW7959Q

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sparkle-of-glass-shawna-delacorte/1146283517?ean=2940185712221 

and other online vendors

Excerpts and other information available on my website:

www.shawnadelacorte.com        https://shawnadelacorte.blogspot.com