Happy New Year!
There will be no post, Wednesday, January 1,
2014. Happy New Year’s!!!
♥
The Library
will CLOSE Early, Tuesday, December 31, at 5:00
pm, New
Year's Eve. and
CLOSED January 1st, New Year's Day. We
will reopen on the 2nd at 9 a.m.
♥
There will
be no Children's Programming until January 4th.
♥
Computer Classes every Sat. mornings 10-12.
"Open House" Whatever you need. Drop in anytime during those two
hours.
♥
Check out our
new blog on movies and music at: RPL's Movies and
Music by Robert Finch
♥
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| Times Square |
Genealogy
tip for today: New Year’s celebrations
New Year’s Day is different from country to country,
especially when countries use different calendars. We wanted to share with you
the customs and dates as they vary. Instead of rewriting all the information we
found, we are sharing with you this article, instead. This is an article from Yahoo
describing how various countries do the Big Do:
Many countries celebrate New Year’s Day
at different times of the calendar year. The definition of New Years is the
custom of celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of another. It
marks the closing and the start of a measurement of daily time in a period of
one rotation of the earth around the sun.
A calendar year for modern day time, in the western world, was
first started by the Romans in 713 BC. However, they used a ten month rotation.
The first official start date was moved to January 1 in 153 BC. Julius Caesar (*then) moved the calendar to 12 full
months in 53 BC. It was called the Julian calendar
The oldest known measurement of a calendar year was by the Mayans.
The custom of New Years is different to different nations and even
religions. The Christian Liturgical or Ecclesiastical Calendar starts with
Advent. It is a cycle of dates that even has movable dates like Easter for
church celebrations. It starts four Sundays before Christmas. It is kept
separate from the governmental Calendar.
The Eastern Orthodox Church starts their Civil New Years on
January 14th. Their Liturgical calendar begins on September 1.
The Chinese New Year is also referred to as the Lunar New Year. It
can start anywhere between January 21 and February 21. It depends on when the
first new moon of the month begins during the first lunar month.
It is astronomically defined. Each Chinese year is symbolized by one of twelve
animals and one of the five elements. These combinations cycle once every 60
years. The twelve animals are the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit Dragon, Snake, Horse,
Sheep, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and the Pig. The five elements are rotated every
two years with the addition of yin and yang. The five elements are wood, fire,
water, metal, and earth.
The Iranian New Year begins with the vernal equinox (spring). In
2007, it was on March 20th. The Assyrian New Year begins on April 1. The
Punjabi begins on April 13th. The Thai and Cambodian begin their New Years
between April 13th and 15th.
The Islamic New Year is somewhat confusing. It is based on 12
lunar months. The start date is about 11 days earlier each year. In 2008, they
will have two New Years with the 12 month Gregorian calendar.
The Gregorian calendar is our actual modern day Calendar that is
commonly accepted. It is an improvement over the Julian calendar. It was named
after Pope Gregory the 13th. It was started in 1582. It used the initials of AD
and CE. CE stands for Christian Era and AD stands for the Annunciation of the
birth of Jesus to Mary. (*And BC for
Before Christ…)
In the modern Western World, it took quite some time to get one
particular start day of a Calendar year. It took from 1522 to 1752 for the date
of January 1st to be recognized as the official date for New Years.
There are many different customs with the start of the New Year.
Many regard it as a Holy Day for different religions. However, in almost every
country and nation, it is a day of celebration. People party and happily look
at the exchange of years.
In America , one
of the largest celebrations is in Times Square in New
York
*ed.
“History – it’s who
we are; Genealogy – it’s who I am” sg
If any of these posts are helpful drop us a line in
the comments section below. We just want to know if the information we provide
to you is beneficial in anyway.
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December 31
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1720
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Charles Edward Stuart, grandson of James II, known as the
Young Pretender and Bonnie Prince Charlie.
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1815
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George Gordon Meade,
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1869
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Henri Matisse, French artist.
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1889
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George Catlett Marshall, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army
during World War II, Secretary of State under Truman, won Nobel Peace Prize
for the Marshall Plan.
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1908
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Simon Wiesenthal, survivor of the Nazi Holocaust who
dedicated his life to tracking down former Nazis.
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jilt
PRONUNCIATION:
(jilt)
MEANING:
verb
tr.: To end a
relationship suddenly or callously.
noun: A person, especially a woman, who discards a lover.
noun: A person, especially a woman, who discards a lover.
ETYMOLOGY:
Of
uncertain origin, perhaps from the name Gillian (or Jillian/Jill). Earliest
documented use: 1660.
USAGE:
"Even
so, it is unlikely, analysts said, that China would jilt Khartoum for Juba
[capital of South Sudan] -- that would probably alarm other repressive and
corrupt regimes, such as those in Angola and Equatorial Guinea, where China has
forged highly profitable oil relationships."
Sudarsan Raghavan & Andrew Higgins;China
Caught Between Two Sudans ;
The Washington
Sudarsan Raghavan & Andrew Higgins;
Time is
the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine
how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.
-Carl Sandburg, poet (1878-1967)
Today’s
Recipe
Martha has a sparkly idea for jazzing up your drink for the
party.
ENJOY!
Now You Know!
