The world has celebrated New Year’s Day for thousands of years

Happy New Year! On New Year’s Day, you join the multitudes of peoples who have celebrated the event throughout history. Though customs changed and people were vastly different through the ages, the thought was the same: The new year offered an opportunity for beginning again.
New Year’s Day is the oldest of all holidays, first observed in Babylon more than 4,000 years ago. The celebration began with the first visible crescent of the new moon after the vernal equinox or first day of spring. And it lasted for eleven days, each with its own type of festivities.
The Babylonians also claim first rights to the tradition of New Year’s resolutions. Their most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment!
The Romans observed the new year in late March, but in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, the Roman senate declared January 1 to be the beginning of the new year. To do it right, Julius Caesar had to let the previous year last for 445 days!
Using a baby to symbolize the new year was first done in Greece around 600 B.C. The Germans added a New Year’s banner to the infant.
Some thought the first visitor of the new year would bring either good or bad luck in the coming year. A dark-haired man was thought to be a lucky omen.
It was said that luck in the coming year was determined by what you ate on the first day. In Spain, people ate grapes. The Dutch believed eating donuts brought good fortune. In some parts of the U.S., black-eyed peas with ham are favored. The hog is considered lucky because some say it symbolizes prosperity.
Corned beef and cabbage are another lucky favorite, especially cabbage because the leaves symbolize prosperity. And in some areas, rice is the lucky food.
Whatever your choice of fare on this oldest of holidays, we wish you and yours the best of luck and happiness in the new year.

The history of the candy cane

The candy maker’s witness:
A long time ago, a candy maker wanted to make a something that would be a witness to his faith. He started with a stick of pure white candy. The color would symbolize the Virgin Birth, and the rock hard candy the foundation of the church and the firmness of God’s promises.
The candy maker formed it into a “J” to represent the name of Jesus, who came to earth as the Savior of all mankind.
The J also represents the staff of the Good Shepherd, with which He reaches down into the world to lift up his fallen lambs.
Then he colored the J with small red stripes to represent Jesus’ flowing blood before the crucifixion. One large red stripe was for His blood shed upon the cross so mankind would have the promise of eternal life.
As time passed, other candy makers made what has become known simply as the candy cane.
But it still bears witness to the wonder of God’s gift.

Mow – don’t rake fall leaves

Eco-friendly Landscape Tips for the Fall Season by Melinda Myers, gardening expert, TV & radio host, author and columnist.
Go green, or should I say brown.  Recycle fall leaves into compost, a soil amendment or a nutritious topdressing for the lawn.  It saves time, improves your landscape, and is good for the environment.
Shred fall leaves with your mower and leave them on the lawn. As long as you can see the grass blades for the leaf pieces your lawn will be fine.  Those shredded leaves will break down adding nutrients and organic matter to the soil.
It is also a good time to make your last application of fertilizer for your lawn.  Use a slow release organic nitrogen fertilizer, like Milorganite, that won’t burn the lawn. Plus, the phosphorous is non-leaching and recent research found when the micro-organisms break down this fertilizer some of the phosphorous and potassium tied up in the soil is released for plants to use.
Northern gardeners with bluegrass, fescue and rye grass lawns can make their last application in late fall before the ground freezes.  Those in the south growing Bermuda, St Augustine and other warm weather grasses can make their last fertilization about one month before the lawn goes dormant.  That’s about the time of the first killing frost.  Fertilizing later can result in winter damage.
Bag any leaves you don’t want to leave on the lawn and dig them into annual flower and vegetable gardens.  They will break down over winter improving the soil.
Use any remaining shredded leaves as mulch on the soil around perennials, trees and shrubs.  The shredded leaves help conserve moisture, moderate temperature extremes and reduce weed problems.  And once decomposed, help improve the soil.
Still leaves left?  Start a compost pile by mixing fall leaves with other yard waste.  Don’t add aggressive weeds or those gone to seed.  Leave insect and disease infested or chemically treated plant debris out of the pile.  Don’t add fat, meat and other animal products that can attract rodents. Moisten and occasionally turn the pile to speed up the process.  Soon you will have a wonderful soil conditioner to put back into your landscape.
Nationally known gardening expert, TV/radio host, author & columnist Melinda Myers has 30 years of horticulture experience and has written over 20 gardening books, including Can’t Miss Small Space Gardening. She hosts the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment segments which air on 89 TV and radio stations throughout the U.S. She is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine. Myers hosted “The Plant Doctor” radio program for over 20 years as well as Great Lakes Gardener on PBS. She has a master’s degree in horticulture, is a certified arborist and was a horticulture instructor with tenure.  Myers’ web site is www.melindamyers.com

Keep ladder safety in mind when decorating for Christmas

November has become the month of preference for outdoor holiday decorating.
There are two reasons. If you live where winter is cold, it’s not as cold in November as in December. No matter where you live, decorating when you aren’t rushed is easier and safer.
Second, Thanksgiving Day is the new most-popular day to light decorations. Guests for Thanksgiving like to see your outdoor lights go on for the first time.
Whether you’re decorating a big Evergreen outside or placing a topper on a tall indoor tree, you will need a ladder. The first order of the day is: Don’t climb alone. Have someone there to steady the ladder or help if you lose your balance.
The Home Safety Council gives these further instructions for safety:
* Check the ladder for loose screws or rungs before taking it outside.
* Don’t place your ladder on ground that is uneven or very soft. Put boards on the ground for a solid ladder base.
* Stay in the center of the steps when you climb and don’t lean too far in either direction.
* Never step on the top of the ladder, or the rung below it, because your center of gravity will be too high. Get a taller ladder if you need one.
* Avoid carrying too much up the ladder at one time. A study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that half of ladder accidents occur because people carry too much when going up or down.
* Always hold on to the side rails.
* Skip the beer and cocktails. Drinking before climbing increases the likelihood that you will lose your balance and fall.
A survey by the council and Werner Ladders shows that many people don’t use ladders safely, especially for Christmas decorating.
Of 1,000 people interviewed, 52 percent say they have worked on uneven ground; 47 percent admitted reaching farther than they should; 38 percent said they hang decorations outside after dark; 36 percent said they use the top two steps of the ladder.
About 20 percent admitted to drinking while climbing.

Did You Know? – December 2010

“Jingle Bells” was first written for Thanksgiving?

Oregon is the leading producer of Christmas trees?
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Did You Know? November 2010

The Manhatten Project which led to the Atomic  bomb began as a $6000 grant to build a nuclear reactor beneath the University of Chicago football field?

Wearing high-heeled shoes can shrink a woman’s calf muscles as much as 10%?
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Did You Know? October 2010

The library in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, England hired a bouncer to protect the library from disruptive children?

Architect David Hertz of Malibu,California built a home out of pieces of a 747 jumbo jet?
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Did You Know? – August 2010

In Moscow, Ohio, a man bulldozed his $350,000 home on February, 2010, when a bank claimed it as collateral for an outstanding debt?
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Did You Know? – July 2010

In 1903, 15-year-old Amanda Clement of Hudson, South Dakota, umpired a men’s baseball game?

In 1890, the first all-women baseball club, called the “Young Ladies Baseball Club No.1”, was formed?
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Did You Know – June 2010

Daniel Boone detested coonskin caps?

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 =             12,345,678,987,654,321?
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