Did you know that back in 2000 B.C., they were celebrating New Years?

Yep!  The Mesopotamians were ringing in the New Year, probably a little differently than we do but nevertheless....You can check out my other blog posts about New Years here if you care to read more random facts about New Years celebrations and traditions.

Here are a few more cool facts about New Year celebrations.

International:


~Russia celebrates with Grandfather Frost, a.k.a. spirit of winter.  Grandfather Frost leaves gifts under the New Year Tree.  Read more here.

~Happy Hogmanay to the folks in Scotland.  Celebrations include fireball swinging and first footing;  the first foot in the house after midnight will ensure good luck for the house as long as the first foot belongs to a dark male and said dark male is bringing pieces of coal, salt, a black bun, shortbread, and a shot of whisky.

~There is a small neighborhood in Johannesburg, South Africa, who take appliances to the rooftops of buildings and throw them down to the streets below.

~In order to start the New Year off right in a town in Peru, they celebrate Takanakuy which is a tradition for men, women, and children to settle grudges with fistfights.  After that, its all good, and they celebrate their clean slates by drinking with each other.

~How about a multi-day water fight in Thailand to celebrate the new year?

~Icestock, a music festival, is how they celebrate in the Antarctic.

~In Akita, Japan, men dress as mountain demons, drink too much, and terrorize children who are disobedient to their parents.

A little more local:

~Did you know some people in Time Square wear adult diapers because of the lack of toilets?  UGH!

~If you are going to be in Mobile, Alabama, look for a 12-foot tall mechanical Moon Pie with lights.

~In Brasstown, North Carolina, they ring in the new year with a Possum Drop.

~A long time ago in Hawaii, the New Year's celebration was four years long.  People stopped working and war was not allowed.  This was a time of feasting and dancing.

No matter how you celebrate, a new year is a great time for more new beginnings.

Happy New Year!!!!!!!!!