The Derosia Team

Happy New Year Traditions, Superstitions, and Resolutions...oh my! Check out our latest post for fun ways to ring in the new year or ways to celebrate throughout the year! Traditions around the World : England: First guest for the year is supposed to bring fortune. In order to be allowed in a person's home, you must bring a loaf of bread for the kitchen, drink for the head of the house, and coal to light the fire.  Denmark: Keep a pile of broken dishes by the front door. People will even throw dishes at their friend's door. It is believed that those who have the most broken dishes outside their door have the most friends.  China: People paint their front doors red to symbolize happiness and good fortune. Brazil: Lentils signify wealth and prosperity, so people eat dishes made with them. Wales: When the clock strikes midnight people open their back door and then shut it to symbolize letting out the old year and locking out any bad luck that came with it. Up...

It's a brand new year! A time to make resolutions, a time for a fresh start, a time to reflect and move forward.  New Year's Celebrations...When Did It Begin?      The tradition of celebrating the start of each new year has been occurring for at least the past four millenniums. Our celebrations start on December 31 and carry into January 1, but that has not always been the norm. The earliest New Year's Celebrations have been recorded to about 4,000 years ago in ancient Babylon. The Babylonians celebrated the new year on the day of the first full moon following the vernal equinox. This day (occurring in late March) is significant, because the amount of sunlight and darkness were equal. The occasion was marked with a large religious festival called Akitu. This celebration lasted for 11 days, with each day partaking in a different ritual. A new king was also crowned during this celebration.       As more civilizations developed more ...