https://www.amazon.com/photos/shared/iLhpbXVGRu6ACILFYWdPNA.NDcxdjL4GjrZJCiEJdO8mh
New Year’s Eve~Traditions to ring in the New year
So what are you doing New Year’s Eve? Going out to a party somewhere or staying home like us? We will most likely be spending our night tending to chickens, goats, pigs,ducks, geese dogs and cats as usual. We have 2 Nigerian Dwarf mamas with babies on the way. Millie is holding out on us or we miscalculated her due date! Penny has a couple weeks left, or at least we think so.
I do love holidays and traditions though and New Years is full of fun activities and traditions.
Some of the traditions that we take for granted actually came from ancient times. So while you are celebrating this year you might want to take a look at where your traditions come from or add a new one or two. (Source: The Farmers Almanac)
Get loud and Noisy!
In ancient Thailand they fired guns to frighten off demons.
In China, people use firecrackers to ward off the forces of darkness.
In the American colonies gun shots were heard throughout the night.
Shooting shotguns is still done in many Southern rural areas today. We did this as kids at my Grandma’s. Please be mindful of your neighbors if you do this though.
In Italy church bells ring, people of Switzerland beat drums; sirens and party horns blast loudly to ring in the new year in North America.
Eat,and be merry!
In the United States, down South we eat black-eyed peas and pork for good luck.
Mustard, turnip or collard greens are also eaten for wealth, although it hasn’t helped me yet!
Another treat for good fortune is anything in the shape of a ring or circle, such as a doughnut. This symbolizes the year coming to coming full circle.
The Dutch serve fritters called olie bollen.
The Irish eat bannocks, or pastries.
In Spain 12 grapes are eaten at midnight.
In India and Pakistan eating rice is believed to bring a person prosperity.
Honey dipped apples are a Rosh Hashanah tradition among Jewish people.
In homes in Switzerland,spoonfuls of whipped cream are dropped on the floor and stay there symbolizing the richness of the coming year! This is not happening at my house, the dogs eat everything that hits the floor!
Pop the champagne cork!
A lot of countries celebrate midnight by popping the cork on the champagne, but a few do things just a little differently.
In England Wassail, which is Gaelic for “good health” is served.
The Scottish serve “hot pot” which is a spiced version of Wassail.
It’s the custom to drink a glass or two at home before you share with your neighbors!
I like that idea!
In Holland toasts are given with hot, spiced wine. Right now in South Georgia it’s hot again so maybe iced tea or cold wine… Hm, another idea is brewing!
Give Gifts.
More presents? I think I could live with that!
In Rome, it’s gifts of gilded nuts or coins.
The Persians exchanged eggs, the symbol of fertility. Hm, maybe those of us who still have hens laying in the cold weather can share farm fresh eggs!
In early Egypt flasks made of earthenware were exchanged.
In Scotland to bring a person good luck, coal, shortbread and silverware are given. Personally I think a gift of poultry, puppies or goats would be nice. We got our LGD’s for our Christmas presents in 2018. In 2020 we got our little Nigerian Dwarf buckling right after Christmas. We added another buckling a few months ago. And we added Mosely to our family in July of 2020 and the kittens Smokey and Sunny this year. Hm….I wonder what’s in store for us in ’23?





Reflect on your life and the New year ahead.
A new year on the rise is a prime opportunity to take a look at life.
Making a New Year’s resolution is a way to reflect on the past year and plan on the future. This practice may have begun as early as 2600 B.C.
During the observance of Rosh Hashanah Jews have a time for personal introspection and prayer, as well as visiting graves of loved ones. This sounds like a good practice for us all.
Since 1770 Christian churches have held a Watch-night service a custom that began in Philadelphia at Old St. Georges Methodist Church.
Other beliefs and customs.
Some beliefs and customs are just sayings or proverbs passed down from family to family, region to region, country to country.
Here is a couple of my favorites!
~On New Year’s Eve, kiss the person you hope to keep kissing. – This one Farmer Cheese and I practice every year at midnight, if we can stay awake that long!
~If the old year goes out like a lion, the new year will come in like a lamb. Hm…If it goes out hot does it come in cold? 2021 has been crazy all year long and is going out just the same. Does this mean there is hope for 2022?
~Begin the new year square with every man. (i.e., pay your debts!)
~And finally my personal favorite: What ever you do New Year’s Day, you will be doing all year-long! With that said, you better make it a good day. No laundry or house cleaning. 😉 Doing laundry is said to wash a loved one away so definitely don’t do that!
Last year a lot of people started a new tradition of staying home in their jammies. This isn’t new to us, we stay home every year.
Whatever you do this New Year’s Eve we wish you a great and safe evening and a wonderful 2023!
True Thankfulness
Here are a few thoughts about thankfulness that I’d like to share.
First, God tells us we should be thankful in everything. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says we are to be thankful in all circumstances. Ephesians 5:20 tells us to give thanks always and for everything. Give thanks ALWAYS? For EVERYTHING? You might wonder how a person is to give thanks when they are: broke, jobless, homeless, have a serious illness, lost a precious family member, or any other crises they are facing. Yet, these two verses clearly tell us give thanks to God in all circumstances.
I’m sure you have heard the expressions, “It could always be worse”, and “There is always somebody worse off than you.” (By the way, those are the last things a person in despair wants to hear)
When we go through the difficulties that life throws at us and we feel there is no one that can possibly know what our pain is like, we can rest assured there is always someone on this earth who has been through a similar situation and understands. And let’s not forget that our Saviour does indeed know a bit about suffering.
Now, this is just my humble opinion but I don’t think that during our times of grief and despair The Lord expects us to be JOYFUL. I mean, we aren’t going to be screaming “Hallelujah” When we have a disease or a family member dies! He does however, expect us to have joy IN Christ. Joy in KNOWING that He has given us his greatest gift(2 Corinthians 9:15) and in knowing His love for us endures forever(Ps.107.1). It was actually while in the depths despair that two of my favorite hymns were written. “It is well with my soul” was written after Chicago lawyer Horatio Spafford lost his finances and nearly his entire family.
http://www.faithlikecoffee.com/…/the-story-behind-it-is-well-with-my-soul.html
“How great thou art” was penned when Stuart K. Hines, a missionary was given shelter from a thunderstorm by a local school master. http://www.hymntime.com/tch/htm/h/o/w/how_great_Thou_art.htm
Like these songwriters and so many others knowing in whom our joy and peace lie will allow us to truly be thankful even when it seems there is not that much to be
thankful for.
Wishing you all a blessed Thanksgiving and a heart of thanksgiving everyday!
September 11….A day we should never forget.
I will never forget where I was and what I was doing that day. The day the world as we knew it ceased to exist.. September 11, 2001. Somethings you never forget. (I remember where I was when the space shuttle exploded too.) I had not gone to work because Mom had burned herself a week or so ago and I was taking her to therapy. We saw the news on her kitchen TV. We sat, mouths open, staring in stunned silence. Didn’t know what to say or do. We went to therapy finally and heard more had happened. We sat the rest of the day glued to the TV in disbelief. When I picked up the kids from school 8th and 11th grades they were stunned and shocked too. News had been on in school all day. I also remember how we as a Nation pulled together to make sense of tragedy and to help each other. Now it seems all we do is fight. Left vs. Right, gay vs. straight, non Christian vs. Christian, black vs. white and on and on. We swore we would never forget…yet we did. We forgot who and what caused this attack on our country. We as a country need to remember who we are and what we stand for. We are AMERICANS…we live in the home of the free and the brave. We are a country that was founded for religious freedom….the freedom to worship God. Our nation has strayed from that purpose and yes times have changed but we should not be enemies of our own people. Can’t we ban together as a Nation undivided once more despite our individual beliefs and differences? We should be fighting the enemy not each other.
#neverforget #September11
Cheese Acres Farm 