It's a brand new year! A fresh start. A year full of possibilities. And a perfect time for celebration, reflection and tradition. To start you off on the right foot in 2016, I thought I'd share a few little-known fun facts about New Year's celebrations.
Did you know...
- We didn’t always make “resolutions" and we didn’t always celebrate the new year on January 1st? Starting around 2,000 B.C., the Mesopotamians celebrated the new year on the vernal equinox (around mid-March). Theirs are the earliest New Year's celebrations on record.
- The first major city to ring in the new year is Gisborne, New Zealand? It lies about 300 miles west of the International Dateline.
- Dubai's is one of the most expensive New Year’s Eve displays on earth? They launch a dazzling firework display from the Burj Khalifa, which is now the world’s tallest building.
- New Year’s Eve is really a family holiday in Russia? Families gather to listen to the president’s speech before the Kremlin clock rings out midnight.
- A million people will be at Times Square when the ball drops? Close to a billion more will watch on TV.
I hope you had a great New Year's Eve celebration. And I hope you got your new calendars already, but just in case, I picked a few of my favorites for you:
From all of us to all of you: Happy 2016!
Your "Welcome 2016" Gift Guru,
Linda
