New Year’s Resolutions are a way to consider how to improve your life.  They should be remembered throughout the year. There’s a simple way to improve your chances of sticking to your resolutions… Make them achievable goals.  Instead of saying, "I’m going on a diet", buy less unhealthy snacks and replace them with fruit. Instead of saying, "I’m...

Every year, in December in Japan, a word is chosen that represents that year.  There’s a Kanji Character that represents that word.  Kanji are the characters used to represent the Japanese language.  They originally come from China. The kanji character of the year is unveiled for the 1st time at Kiyomizu Temple each year. Ayako wrote...

I was sent this email about tipping for services in France at Christmastime… Traditionally, we tip the mailman: he or she brings everyone a calendar which includes a lot of information about the post office, and also about all the towns in the "département" (i.e. county).  There are 95 different types of material given since there...

It’s a tradition in the US and the UK to tip people at the end of the year who perform services.  Some of the people who are tipped are: Mail Couriers, Sanitation Workers, Hairdressers,  Milkmen, House Cleaners, Nanny’s, Music Instructors, Dog Groomers, Teachers, etc.  Many people wonder if they’re tipping the right amount.  This seems...

Maryam wrote from Iran explaining about the Persian tradition of “divination” by consulting the Oracle of Shiraz Hafiz for guidance.  Divination is a way to find out an answer to a question you have about your future (will you marry the one you love, will you get that job, etc.) To understand about the “Oracle of...

Yuzu is a citrus fruit they enjoy in Japan especially near the Winter Solstice and the New Year.  I’ve never seen the actual fruit here to try it.  But today I found a Yuzu drink you can buy at the American chain store Trader Joe’s.  You simply empty a packet into a cup, add hot...

Ayako wrote from Japan about special New Year’s traditions and the food they eat… "I visited my mothers home yesterday and ate osechi ryouri which is a new years special meal and went to a shrine too." "This is my yuzu dish I made this new year… Yuzu is a spcial citrus fruit...

The Passing of the Year was written by Robert W. Service (1874 – 1958).  It’s about the last minutes before the New Year starts, yet it still feels pertinent at the beginning of the New Year.  Below you can hear it recited and read along with the poem. MP3 of The Passing of the Year The Passing...

At the End of the Feast is an "End of Christmas" Carol from England lamenting the end of holiday festivities.  I find it to be humorous! This song is also called A Carol for the 12th Day and was first printed in New Christmas Carols in 1642.  It can also be found in Notes and Queries...

  "January is named after the two-headed Roman god Janus, god of thresholds and beginnings… With his two heads he looks at the past and the future, behind and before… Which I guess is what we are all doing today." -Ernestine Shargool

Ayako Egawa wrote from Japan about Kamaboko, a sort of gelled fish cake that’s eaten there.  The one pictured below was made for the New Year.  The character on these Kamaboko is called Kizuna (meaning bond) which is the symbol for 2011.  (A character is chosen annually in Japan that best symbolizes the year that...

Purabi wrote from Bangladesh: "The day after tomorrow is ‘Bengali New Year’. Wishing all of you a very prosperous, joyful life!" Mongol Jatra, literally ‘colorful rally’, is enjoyed by people irrespective of race, religion etc. on the New Year. Mongol Shuva Jatra Pohela Boishakh is the first day of the New Year and...

In Japan, people traditionally make displays in their houses for special holidays.  The displays often include flowers, branches of trees and symbolic food. My friend Ayako Egawa in Japan sent the photo below of a floral arrangement she made for the New Year.  She wrote, "The berries are ’senryo’, lucky plants for the New Year in...