Rachel's Reflections » New Year

Eighth Day of Christmas

Rachel — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 20:59:33 +0000

Today is the Eighth Day of Christmas. It is also New Year’s Day. I hope you’ve been having a wonderful start to this new year.

As mentioned, it is the Eighth Day of Christmas. We are still in the period of time known as Christmastide. And so it is still the holidays, and I will continue to do “days of Christmas” posts until Christmastide ends.

Along with the new year is also the start of the non-bird or “people” gifts in the famous “Twelve Days of Christmas” song. Don’t you think it interesting that all the gifts on the days in December are birds and the ones in January are not?

Here’s the latest installment:

On the Eighth Day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Eight maids a-milking
(Seven swans a-swimming
Six geese a-laying
Five golden rings**
Four calling birds*
Three French hens
Two turtledoves
And a partridge in a pear tree.)

* Note: Wikipedia says “calling birds” is a corruption of “colly birds” which are black birds.

** Wikipedia also assures me that golden rings does not refer to “jewelry but to ring-necked birds such as the ring-necked pheasant.”

New Year's Day 2009

Rachel — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:10:48 +0000

Happy New Year, everyone!

I hope all of you are having a blessed start to your new year.

I didn’t see the ball drop in New York. I woke up too late to turn the TV on and watch it. Yes, folks, around here the ball drops at 8:00 a.m., and I was asleep. I woke up at 8:18 a.m., so was too late. But I didn’t go to bed until almost 5:00 a.m., so that really wasn’t much sleep.

Anyway, Jeremy and I are celebrating quietly. We went to church last night, and had a really good time both in the church service and in the feasting and fellowship afterwards. It was real nice. So I had a great New Year’s Eve, and am having a great New Year’s Day.

I hope you are too.

New Year's Eve 2008

Rachel — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:59:32 +0000

Today is New Year’s Eve. We have a party at church tonight. We’re going to have a church service and then a party. I’m making brownies and cheesecake to take. Before anybody thinks I’ve morphed into a good cook, they’re both from mixes. That’s the only way I cook–the shorter time I spend in the kitchen the better. After all, it’s harder to read a book in the kitchen than it is sitting on the couch.

So after the party and feasting and fellowship, we’ll come home having rung in the New Year. And then we’ll go to bed and maybe get up early to watch the ball drop in New York. It’s due to drop at 8:00 a.m. Then I might go back to bed. But I might stay up to wish my family a Happy New Year at 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m.

I think it’s rather strange the idea of sleeping first and then watching the ball drop. Back home everyone’s staying up late to watch it, and then they’ll sleep. But then they’re not half way around the world where it will be broad daylight by the time the ball drops. So, yes, around here you ring in the New Year, go to bed, and then get up to watch the ball drop.

It’s even stranger when the ball will drop before my family even has their New Year’s. It will still be 2008 for them when the ball drops in New York, while it will have been 2009 for eight hours already for me.

And then you have to think that it’s been New Year’s already even longer for Japan and China, but still 2008 for several hours yet for Hawaii. I haven’t done the math, but I wonder if it is 2009 for almost an entire day for some of the world before 2009 comes for all the world. Yes, I know if you stand on either side of the International Date Line it is an entire day’s difference, but it’s water on either side. I’m talking about land where people actually live.

It’s kind of strange when you think about it. New Year’s Day starts on January 1 for everyone, but New Year’s Day doesn’t start at the same time for everyone.

Interesting, though weird.

So how are you spending your Christmas Eve? I hope you’re spending it with friends or family. Is your New Year’s before or after the ball drops. Will you be viewing it in person or on television? Do you even care?

I wish you a Happy New Year, and I hope 2009 will be a wonderful year for you and better than 2008.

Sixth Day of Christmas

Rachel — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 18:50:51 +0000

Today is the Sixth Day of Christmas. And it is also the day before the end of the year. Although for some it is the second day of the year. My husband, Jeremy, informed me that yesterday was the start of the Muslim New Year. It is year 1430 AH (anno Hegirae: “in the year of the Hijra—Islamic prophet Muhammad‘s emigration from Mecca to Medina”).¹ This month in the Islamic calendar is called Muharram. Interestingly the Wikipedia article says that this is the second holiest month in the year (Ramadan being the holiest), and that this is one of the four months of the year when fighting is prohibited. And in fact, that is the source of the month’s name: “the word is derived from the word ‘haram’ meaning forbidden.” ² Do please click on the associated links, both here and in the footnotes, to learn more. There’s more interesting information in those articles than I can put here.

Happy New Year’s, Muslims!

And for the rest of us, since it’s the Sixth Day of Christmas, I have another installment for you in the song we all know:

On the Sixth Day of Christmas my true love gave to me
Six geese a-laying
(Five golden rings**
Four calling birds*
Three French hens
Two turtledoves
And a partridge in a pear tree.)

* Note: Wikipedia says “calling birds” is a corruption of “colly birds” which are black birds.

** Wikipedia also assures me that golden rings does not refer to “jewelry but to ring-necked birds such as the ring-necked pheasant.”

¹ Source is “Islamic Calendar” from Wikipedia. Please follow the link to learn more.

² from the Wikipedia article “Muharram“