) ( ) Good Morning Family! .-.,--^--. ( Come on in. . . \\|`----'| - The coffee pot's on. . . \| |// ...and we even have decaf, | |/ tea, and hot chocolate! \ / ------ Today's topics include: 1. Welcome to new cousins 2. Life's top ten events for the past 1,000 years 3. A brief history about New Year's If you've been with the family for at least three weeks, you'll probably want to skip the following paragraph… TO OUR NEWEST COUSINS ~~ On behalf of the entire family, I'd like to extend a most hearty welcome to those cousins who came into the family fold this past week. We are very glad to have you with us and hope you'll stay and remain a part of our online family. As soon as you're comfortable with us and the list, please send in your Bower[s]/Bauer or Baur lines so we can all see how we're related to you. We do not have a fancy format for sending in records or queries to the list. Post as many as you wish! If the data has anything to do with Bower[s]/Bauer or Baur ancestors or any of the 81+ variant spellings we research that might help someone, please feel free to post it. Every scrap of information is appreciated. If you haven't visited the homesite of this list yet, you are encouraged to do so. Our home is Bower Community, located at <http://bowercommunity.com>. There, we currently have two sites: The Bower Family Homestead [a.k.a., the Homestead] is our primary homesite and the gathering place for much of our information. It waits to join us all in welcoming you into the family at <http://bowercommunity.com/homestead>. Smaller and just opened this year, our sister site, the Bower Cottage, houses most of our projects including an online GEDCOM fed by quite a few cousins from our lists. The Cottage is still small as far as material goes, however give us time and we'll have it filled really soon. The Cottage is at <http://bowercommunity.com/cottage>. LIFE'S TOP TEN EVENTS DURING THE PAST 1,000 YEARS 10. The compass goes to sea (1117, China) 9. Hitler comes to power (1933, Germany) 8. The Declaration of Independence (1776, United States) 7. Gunpowder Weapons (1100, China) 6. Germ Theory (1822, Germany) 5. Galileo's Telescope (1610, Italy) 4. The Industrial Revolution (1769, England) 3. Martin Luther's 95 Theses (1517, Germany) 2. Columbus' Voyage (1492, Spain) 1. Guttenberg's Bible (1455, Germany) Source: "Life Millennium: The 100 Most Important Events and People of the Past 1,000 Years" by The Editors of Life Magazine. A BRIEF HISTORY ABOUT NEW YEAR'S According to some we did it last year, however according to most, tonight at midnight the world will step into the new millennium. In keeping with the theme of holiday histories, and with this New Year's being a special one, I thought it would be a very apropos subject for this week. Nearly every country celebrates in some fashion, whether it's festive or serious, and even in days past it was traditional to celebrate a new year. Today's Coffee is another case of looking toward the future with our feet planted in history... When someone thinks of celebrating New Year's, one of the first things that comes to mind is the song, "Auld Lang Syne" (pronounced awld lang sine). This famous, Scottish song partially written by poet Robert Burns tells of days gone by ~ it's title translated literally as 'old long since'. This song was written in the 1700's but not published until 1796, after Burns' death. Sung at the stroke of midnight, "Auld Lang Syne" has become synonymous in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year. Nearly every country celebrates the arrival of a new year in some fashion, whether it's festive or serious. People make New Year's resolutions to break bad habits or to start good ones. Some think about how they have lived during the past year and look forward to the next 12 months. As the oldest of all the holidays, New Year's was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. Their New Year's celebrations lasted for eleven days and each day had its own particular purpose. Sometime around 2000 BC, Babylonians began celebrating the new year on what is now March 25, although they themselves had no written calendar. These ancient people performed rituals to do away with the past and purify themselves for the new year. For example, some people put out the fires they were using and started new ones. The Romans continued to observe the New Year on March 25, but various emperors continually tampered with their calendar so that the calendar soon became out of synchronization with the sun. In order to set the calendar right, the Roman senate, in 153 BC, declared January 1 to be the beginning of the new year. But tampering continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has come to be known as the Julian Calendar. It again established January 1 as the New Year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days. During the Middle Ages, European countries used March 25th, a Christian holiday called Annunciation Day, to start the year. By 1600, a number of European nations had adopted a revised calendar called the Gregorian. This calendar, the one used today, restored January 1 as New Year's Day. Great Britain and its colonies in America adopted the Gregorian in 1752. But, that's another subject for another Coffee.... Although the Romans continued celebrating New Year's in the first centuries AD, the early Catholic Church condemned those festivities as paganism. The Church remained opposed to celebrating New Years even into the Middle Ages. However, as Christianity became more widespread, the early church began having its own religious observances concurrently with many of the pagan celebrations, and New Year's Day was no different. New Years is still observed as the Feast of Christ's Circumcision by some denominations. Many people celebrate the new year on dates established by their religion. The Jewish New Year, a solemn occasion called Rosh Ha-Shanah, is observed during September or early October. Hindus in different parts of India celebrate the new year on various dates. Muslims use a calendar that has 354 days in most years. As a result, the Muslim New Year falls on different dates from year to year on the Gregorian calendar. The Chinese New Year begins between January 21 and February 19. The celebration lasts four days. On the last night, people dress as dragons to frighten and delight the children. In Japan, many people worship on New Year's Day. The custom of making New Year's resolutions dates back to the early Babylonians. Popular modern resolutions include the promise to lose weight or quit smoking, but the Babylonians' most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment. The ancient Persians gave New Year's gifts of eggs, which symbolized productivity. The Celts took over many New Year's customs from the Romans, who invaded the British Isles in A.D. 43. The Celtic priests of what is now England gave the people branches of mistletoe, which was considered sacred. By the 1200's, English rulers had revived the Roman custom of asking their subjects for New Year's presents. Common presents included jewelry and gold. Queen Elizabeth I acquired a large collection of richly embroidered and jeweled gloves through this custom. English husbands gave their wives money on New Year's Day to buy pins and other articles. This custom disappeared in the 1800's however, the term pin money still means small amounts of spending money. The tradition of using a baby to signify the new year was begun in Greece around 600 BC. They celebrated their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket to represent the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth. Although the early Christians initially denounced the practice as pagan, the popularity of the baby as a symbol of rebirth forced the Church to reevaluate its position. The Church finally allowed its members to celebrate the new year with a baby, meant to symbolize the birth of the baby Jesus. The use of an image of a baby with a New Year's banner as a symbolic representation of the new year was brought to early America by the Germans. They had used the effigy since the fourteenth century. American colonists in New England celebrated the new year by shouting and their firing guns into the air. They also visited taverns and houses to ask for drinks. Other colonists attended church services. Some people held open house, welcoming all visitors and feeding them generously. Another old custom involved using the Bible to predict what would happen in the new year. People chose a passage of the Bible at random, then applied the passage to the coming months of the new year. Today our modern customs aren't much different, although with technology we just celebrate a little differently. Revelry and partying continues to be the main theme of New Year's Eve around the world. At midnight, bells ring, sirens sound, firecrackers explode, and everyone shouts, "Happy New Year!" People also drink a toast to the new year and sing "Auld Lang Syne." Did you know there are actually five verses to "Auld Lang Syne?" Most people only sing or know the first and last. Both are presented here: Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot and days of auld lang syne? For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne, we'll take a cup of kindness yet, for auld lang syne. Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot and days of auld lang syne? And here's a hand, my trusty friend And gie's a hand o' thine We'll take a cup o' kindness yet For auld lang syne Family... and studying our rich heritage, it's what we're all about. Beginning this Coffee with "Auld Lang Syne" and ending with the same, I'd like to take this time to thank all of you for a year of family and friendship, and unwavering support. Each of you have enriched my life tremendously and I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to know you. I hope your 2001 is filled with health, productivity, fun, and above all, filled with love. I wish each of you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! ) ( ) _.-~~-. (@\'--'/. Colleen ('``.__.'`) `..____.'