So, what does a New Year's Eve sound like?

Around here, it sounds loud.

"Mom, just how attached are you to the styrofoam ice chest on the porch?" #2 Son called from the front door.

Not very, i called back.  It already has a crack across the top, and it was disposable anyway.  But make sure you pick up all the styrofoam, don't leave it lying all over the yard.

"Yes, mommy," Young Jacob yelled back.  Sarcastic little git, but i can't fuss too much, he's got a friend who might get us a good deal on an engine for the Jalopy, and besides, they all think of me as a substitute mom anyway.

********************

A little while after my pyromaniacs started their fireworks, i heard Bigger Girl slam the door open and Little Girl run past her yelling, "Water!  Quick!"

They filled cups and ran outside.  Bigger Girl came back later and said, "I'm getting a bucket of water.  They're gonna need it!"

********************

"Mom, did you know that Young Jacob likes to hold the fireworks in his hands?  And Little Girl stomps on them with her steel-toe boots?" #1 Son came in to ask.

Do i want to know?  Just let me know if anyone is bleeding.  Otherwise, i just don't want to hear about it, okay?

"Okay, I'll let you know if anyone needs medical attention."

*********************

"Mom, Young Jacob was eyeing George, so I thought she needed to come in," Bigger Girl said, bring in my pink lawn flamingo.

"But it would be so much fun to send George into orbit!" Young Jacob said.

Not today, i muttered, putting George away safely.

*********************

There were a lot of loud noises outdoors, but one i know was inside the house.  Upon going into the kitchen, i saw #2 Son and asked what broke.

"The top of the butter dish," he said.  "And I'm sorry.  But really, around here, I truly think we need one that isn't glass."

Here, i said, climbing into the cabinet and grabbing the metal one i had waiting in the wings for when the glass one broke.  Since i know you kids so well, i told him, i had one waiting.

********************

While the children love the loud bangs, my favorite sound is everyone swarming in and yelling for the butterscotch crisp rice treats.  Cries of "You made them!" and "May we have them now" ring out, and Sweetie always takes two of them to wrap in foil and save for the next day.  It's gratifying to cook something that they all love so much.

Happy New Year, everyone!


Today is:

Apple Gifting Day

Bad Hangover Day -- but only for some (she says, trying not to look too virtuous)

Birth of Moonhopper -- Fairy Calendar

Black Nazarene Fiesta -- Philippines (through the 9th)

Bonza Bottler Day

Buckle-Up Day -- the first US mandatory seat belt law went into effect in New York on this day in 1985

Carnival Day -- St. Kitts and Nevis

Constitution Day  -- Italy

Daydreamers' Day -- take time out today to dream, on paper, what you want this year to hold

Day of the Establishment of the Slovak Republic -- Slovakia

Days of Volos -- Slavic Pagan Calendar (a time to be thankful to the god Volos for pets and farm animals; through the 6th)

Eighth Day of Christmas

Feast of the Circumcision of Christ -- Eastern Orthodox Church

Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus - Orthodox Christian; Lutheran

First-Foot Day -- make sure an auspicious or good person is the first to set foot in your home for the New Year

Foundation Days -- Taiwan (a/k/a Republic Day, celebrated through tomorrow)

Gantan-sai (New Years) -- Shinto

Get A Life Day -- now even the internet is urging you to use the New Year wisely

Grandfather Frost Day -- Russia; Ukraine (Ded Moroz; an equivalent of Santa Claus who visits on New Year's Day and delivers the gifts in person with his granddaughter, the Snow Maiden, and fighting off Baba Yaga the witch who tries to steal them; in some areas, he comes on "Old Christmas Day", in about a week)

Hangover Handicap Run -- Klamath Falls, OR, US (an early morning run, saluting the night before by giving out beer can trophies)

Horan Enya -- Bungo Takada City, Japan (ceremony for safety at sea and large catches)

Independence Day -- Haiti(1804); Sudan

International Get Over It Month -- urging you to let the past go and move forward

Kaapse Klopse -- Cape Town, South Africa (Minstrel Carnival, with parties and parades through February; main parade tomorrow at midday)

Kalends of January -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also
     Agonalia (giving dates, figs, and honey to Janus, and gifts to family members)
     Day Sacred to Janus, Juno, and Jupiter
     Festival for Aesculapius (god of healing)
     Festival for Vedovus (god of the spirits of ancestors)
     Sacrifice to Fortuna Day (Sacrifice something to the goddess of Fortune so she will give you a good year.)

Kayin New Year -- Myanmar (a/k/a Karen New Year)

Kwanzaa, Day 7, Imani (faith)

Liberation Day -- Cuba (a/k/a Triumph of the Revolution)

London New Year's Day Parade -- London, England (one of the best New Year parties in the world)

Mary, Mother of God -- Catholic Christian (Feast of the Solemnity of Mary, Octave Day of Christmas)

Mummer's Parade -- Philadelphia, PA, US

National Bloody Mary Day -- um, didn't you get enough of that last night?!

National Tree Planting Day -- Tanzania

New Year's Day

New Year's Dishonor List Day -- Lake Superior State University announces the misused and overused words from the previous year which should be banished from the Queen's English

Perchtenlauf -- Bad Gastein, Austria (A festival with scary masks and music to frighten away winter.)

Polar Swim Day / Polar Bear Swim / Polar Bear Plunge -- various locations throughout Canada, Netherlands, and US

Restoration Day of the Independent Czech State -- Czech Republic

Sacrifices to the Wind Gods -- Ancient Greek Calendar (date approximate)

Scout's Day -- Burma (celebration of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides in Burma)

Shogatsu -- Japan (New Year, most important holiday of the year)

Shusho-e Matsuri -- Buddists in Japan go to temple on the first day of the year for a special ceremony

Snake Eyes Day -- no, i won't, it's too obvious

Sovereignty Day -- Iraq

St. Basil's Day / Basil the Great -- Eastern Orthodox (Patron of education, exorcisms, hospital administrators, Liturgists, monks, reformers, and of Russia and Cappadocia; bringer of gifts and inspector of livestock in Greece)

St. Clarus' Day  (Patron of tailors)

St. Zedislava Berka's Day  (Patron of difficult marriages, people ridiculed for piety)

Tewa Turtle Dance -- Tewa Native Americans (celebration of life and the first Creation; through the 4th)

Tournament of Roses Parade -- Pasadena, CA, US

Vienna New Year's Concert -- Vienna, Austria

Z Day -- for all the people whose names begin with Z and always have to wait to be last; sponsored by Tom Zager


Anniversary Today:

Establishment of Bryce Canyon National Monument, UT, US, 1923
Ellis Island opens, 1892


Birthdays Today:

James McAvoy, 1979
Verne "Mini-Me" Troyer, 1969
Michael Imperioli, 1966
Kathleen Casey, 1946
Don Novello, 1943
Helmut Jahn, 1940
Frank Langella, 1940
B. Kliban, 1935
J. D. Salinger, 1919
Hank Greenberg, 1911
Barry Goldwater, 1909
Xavier Cugat, 1900
J. Edgar Hoover, 1895
E.M. Forster, 1879
Betsy Ross, 1752(O.S.)
"Mad Anthony" Wayne, 1745(O.S.)
Paul Revere, 1735


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Profiles in Courage(publication date), 1956
"Modern Times"(Film), 1936
Traveler's Checks(first issued by the London Exchange Banking Company), 1772


Today in History:

The Julian Calendar takes effect for the first time, BC45
Origin of the Christian Era, 1
The last gladiator competition in Rome, 404
Muhammad sets out toward Mecca with his army, 630
Jews of Sicily are no longer required to attend conversionist services, 1430
Portuguese navigators become the first Europeans to see the Guanabara Bay, which they thought was the mouth of a river and first called Rio de Janeiro (River of January), 1502
Scotland begins its numbered year on January 1 instead of March 25, 1600
German astronomer Simon Marius first sees Jupiter's moons (he did not report them, though, Galileo did, on July 10 of the same year), 1610
Samuel Pepys makes his first diary entry, 1660
The first traveler's cheques go on sale in London, for use in 90 European cities, 1772
The Irish Parliament votes to join the Kingdom of Great Britain, forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, 1801
The dwarf planet Ceres is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi, 1801
Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tay San Dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Hue, Vietnam, 1803
Haiti gains independence from France (National Day), 1804
Import of slaves into the US is banned, 1808
The first homestead under the Homestead Act claimed, near Beatrice, Nebraska, 1863
Japan begins using the Gregorian Calendar, 1873
England's Queen Victoria proclaimed empress of India, 1877
Twenty-five nations adopt Sanford Fleming's proposal for Standard Time and Time Zones, 1885
The first Tournament of Roses is held, 1900
The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia, 1901
Vancouver, BC starts driving on the right side of road, 1922
Turkey adopts the Gregorian calendar: December 18, 1926 (Julian), is immediately followed by January 1, 1927 (Gregorian), 1927
Emperor Hirohito of Japan announces he is not a god, 1946
The European Community is established, 1958
United States Navy SEALs established, 1962
The Internet's Domain Name System is created, 1985
The first British mobile phone call is made by Ernie Wise to Vodafone, 1985
A single market within the European Community is introduced, 1993
The North American Free Trade Agreement comes into effect 1994
The World Trade Organization goes into effect, 1995
The European Central Bank is established, 1998
The Euro currency is introduced in 11 countries, 1999
Euro banknotes and coins become legal tender in twelve of the European Union's member states, 2002
Taiwan officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Chinese Taipei, 2002
The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty officially comes into force, 2002
Sydney, Australia swelters through its hottest New Years Day on record. The thermometer peaked at 45 °C (113 °F), sparking bushfires and power outages, 2006
Bulgaria and Romania officially join the European Union. Also, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Irish become official languages of the European Union, 2007
Malta and Cyprus officially adopt the Euro currency and become the fourteenth and fifteenth Eurozone countries, 2008
Estonia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the seventeenth eurozone country, 2011