What kind of New Year Traditions does your family have? On Travel and Leisure’s webpage, an article from December of 2008 describes some of the World’s Strangest Traditions. Apparently, in Sao Paulo, La Paz, and other parts of South America, the proper wardrobe for New Year’s Eve is not a nice dress or a black tie, but underwear. For those who are looking for love, red underwear is the appropriate color and for those looking for money, yellow is the appropriate color. In the Philippines, the wearing of polka dots and eating round fruits are supposed to ensure a prosperous new year. In Spain, wolfing down a handful of grapes as the clock strikes 12 is supposed to have the same effect.
In other countries, New Year’s customs are about driving away the bad spirits of the past year. That is why the Chinese light firecrackers to scare away evil spirits. In Scotland, men parade through the village swinging giant blazing fireballs over their heads to ward off evil. The Danish people have the tradition of jumping off chairs at midnight to banish bad spirits.
So what kind of traditions do you have in your family? In our family, after getting together for Thanksgiving and Christmas, the New Year’s celebration is low key. This is especially true, because in another few weeks, our family will get together again to celebrate Chinese New Year. So January 1 is usually a quiet celebration. We do, however, have a custom of beginning the year with a celebration of Mass. We get together to thank God for the past 12 months and ask God’s blessing for the next 12.
Spiritual author, Fr. Ronald Rolheiser wrote, “If you come to the end of a year and are still alive, then you haven’t had a bad year. If you are still within the family of faith, then you’ve had a good year, irrespective of personal sickness, economic misfortune, lost relationships or any other tragedy. Moreover, if there’s gratitude in your heart and you can ask God for providence and protection for the coming year, you’ve entered that year on the right note. If you can follow this by expressing sincere love and best wishes for those around you (the words and embraces that say “Happy New Year”) well, that’s all a human being can do to welcome a new year properly.”
So with gratitude in our hearts, for you our brothers and sisters in faith, who have encouraged us, supported us, prayed for us and loved us, we thank God for you, for your companionship along the journey of life. We are indeed so blessed to have each other, to have the gift of faith and to be part of the family of God. As we celebrated Christmas last week, we are reminded of God’s incredible love that He chooses to dwell among
His people, in you and me. So as we begin a New Year, we know that we have nothing to fear, for Emmanuel, God is with us. And through even the darkest valleys, He will see us through. On behalf of the sisters, priests and staff here at St. Brendan, we wish you and your loved ones a very Blessed New Year! Thank you for who you are and all you do.
With love and prayers,
Fr. Dan
