DECK THE HOLIDAY'S

   When January comes along, you may think that the food holidays have come to an end, but you'd be wrong.  January is filled with many food holidays.  Here is a list of the food holidays you can look forward to in January. January 1st-Apple Gifting Day - This is such a fun day to celebrate.  A fun way to enjoy this national food holiday is to bake an apple pie or some other favorite apple dessert that you may like.  Christmas may be over, but it's never a bad time to bake a gift for someone. January 2nd-National Cream Puff Day - If you're tired of baking, never fret.  You can always head to your local bakery and pick up some delicious cream puffs. January 3rd-Chocolate-Filled Cherry Day - Go out and enjoy a handful of some chocolate covered cherries.  I can't seem to find any that are filled with chocolate. January 4th-National Spaghetti Day - Who doesn't love spaghetti (besides me)?  On this food holiday, shake things up by maki...

January 1st-New Year's Day - You already knew this one.  Celebrate by getting ahead start on breaking your New Year's resolutions. January 2nd-55MPH Speed Limit Day -Observe the 55 MPH holiday by driving the speed limit in your state or country. Or if you don't like it just say "I can't drive 55"! January 3rd-J.R.R. Tolkien Day -Invite a Hobbit over for dinner! YAAAA! January 4th-World Hypnotism Day - Try to hypnotise your children into doing what you want them to do. (like that's going to happen). January 5th-Bird Day - Go out and pet a parrot and keep your fingers away from the beak. January 6th-Epiphany -Go to church and ring some bells. January 7th-I'm Not Going To Take It Anymore Day - Got a beef with someone, go up to them and yell this catchy little phrase to them. January 8th-Bubble Bath Day - When's the last time you've seen any man take a bubble bath.  Women, go ahead and have a "calgon take me away night". ...

      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 new Year has not always begun on January 1st, and it doesn't begin on that date everywhere today.  It begins on that date only for cultures that use a 365-day solar calendar.  January 1st became the beginning of the New Year in 46 B.C., when Julius Caesar developed a calendar that would more accurately reflect the seasons than previous calendars had.  Greek god Janus     The Romans named the first month of the year after Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and ent...

   You wish you had eaten less.  This is one of the most common complaints after the holiday.  Why did you stuff down that last huge piece of ham or turkey, or that second dessert?  Now you've gained five or ten pounds and you'll have to spend January and February working it off. You wish you had done what you wanted.  Every year during the holidays, many people find themselves being pulled in ten different directions.  Grandma wants you at her house at noon for dinner, mom wants you to unwrap gifts at her house at 11.  Your friends want to get together at 3 p.m.,  and then your aunt asks you to drop by at 2.  After the day is over, you find you put more miles on your car in one day than you did during the whole month of December.  You're exhausted, stressed out, and wish you had just stayed home in bed. The desire to go back and get people different Christmas gifts.  Now that you see your brother didn't really need a new ra...

   Every culture and many families have tradition's and superstitions about foods that will ensure a prosperous New Year.  With the state of the economy and all the financial woes it has caused in 2009, it might not hurt for us to lean toward the superstitious side this New Year's day.  So, if you don't have any of the following foods in your kitchen right now, you might want to make a "good luck" run to the store! Vegetables Associated with Good Luck for the New Year    There is a tradition of eating black-eyes peas on January 1st, it is a common good luck food in the southern United States, black-eyed peas are thought to bring prosperity, their shape and abundance representing coins.  Other vegetables that are considered lucky are: Lentils, they resemble coins and are thought to bring good fortune and represent growing wealth.  Greens (kale, collards), are thought to be the color of money, they are thougtht to bring wealth and prosper...

   New Year's is a time to celebrate the end of the past year and welcome a new year.  It is a time to reflect on the past and plan for the future.  The parties and traditions surrounding this time are many and varied.  But where do they com from?  Who started them and why?  New Year's Eve has specific traditions and celebrations as does New Year's Day.  Here are some specific traditions from America and where they come from. Auld Lang Syne - A traditional Scottish song that was first published in 1796, Auld Lang Syne is the most popular song that no one knows the word to!  Guy Lombardo played the song on New Year's Eve in 1929 and it has become a tradition ever since.The song celebrate the remembrance of old friends.    Kissing At Midnight - On New Year's Eve at the stroke of midnight, everyone kisses.  Even if you don't have someone to kiss, you wish you were kissing.  This is more than just a celebra...

    There are many traditions on New Year's.  One of the most famous is the singing of "Auld Lang Syne" at the stroke of midnight.  But who wrote this song and why do we sing it?  This is a question many people do not know it, it has just become part of tradition.  The song was originally written in 1790 by a Scottish poet by the name of Robert Burns.  Many of the lyrics from the first verse and the chorus are strikingly similar to a 1711 poem by James Watson.  The song really took off in 1929 when bandleader Guy Lombardo began broadcasting this song on his radio broadcast on New Years Eve.  The song quickly spread throughout the British Isles.  As people emigrated to the United States and other countries, they took with them the song as a custom of singing "Auld Lang Syne" with them.    Here are the lyrics to Robert Burns' song with translation to some words you may not know. Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and n...