Archive for the ‘January’ Category
Epiphany, meaning “to show,” “to make known,” or “to reveal,” is also known as Twelfth Night, Three Kings Day, or Little Christmas. It marks the end of the Christmas Season. Epiphany is also the feast of the Baptism of Christ.
Epiphany is celebrated in many countries as the day the Three Wise Men or Magi arrived in Bethlehem and found the Christ child. In Eastern Christian traditions and in some countries, this is the day that people exchange gifts, commemorating the giving of gifts to Jesus by the Wise Men.
Epiphany is also the 12th Day of Christmas. It is the last official day of the Christmas Season and the beginning of the Carnival Season.
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Author: Ronnie Tanner
Mardi Gras actually has its beginnings in the medieval time period of Western Europe, France in particular. For hundreds of years European Christians have celebrated both the 12 days of Christmas and indulged in feasting before fasting began for the Lenten season. It was the combination of both events that ultimately led to the celebration and season of Mardi Gras.
The celebration of Carnival actually begins on January 6, known as Twelfth Night or Three Kings Day, and ends in a culmination of festivities on Fat Tuesday (always the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday). With this understanding, one begins to get a clear picture of how the 12 days of Christmas and the beginning of Lent have been combined in to one long celebratory picture.
According to CRIvoice.org, “The season of Lent spans 40 weekdays beginning on Ash Wednesday and climaxing during Holy Week with Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday), Good Friday, and concluding Saturday before Easter. Originally, Lent was the time of preparation for those who were to be baptized, a time of concentrated study and prayer before their baptism at the Easter Vigil, the celebration of the Resurrection of the Lord early on Easter Sunday.”
To understand the timing of the celebration, one must look back and see exactly what January 6 represents. Although most Christians around the world celebrate December 25 as the Christ Child’s birth date. Mainly Catholics have celebrated the tradition of the Epiphany. The Epiphany is celebrated on the 12th day of Christmas, January 6, and is said to be the date when the wise men found and worshipped the baby Jesus. Thus the commencement of Carnival begins on this date although the actually Mardi Gras parades may not start until much later, the two weeks that precede the Lenten season to be exact, the Mardi Gras season itself begins on January 6
It is on January 6, that many King cakes are traditionally served for the first time during the season as well; though it can and is served any time during the Mardi Gras season at a King Cake Party. As with other things concerning this period of time, the King cake also has religious origins. The King cake is a celebratory pastry honoring the Kings who came in search of the newborn King, Jesus. Traditionally, a small baby is baked inside the cake to represent the baby Jesus. It is considered lucky to be served the piece of cake with the baby inside and the person receiving that piece is honored with hosting the next party. Unfortunately, the tradition of placing a plastic baby inside of the cake has fallen out of favor in recent years because some felt that a foreign object inside something edible presents a choking hazard. That says much about this day and time.
Because many take reveling and partying to the extremes, Mardi Gras has received a negative image over the past few decades however many devout Catholics still few the time with reverence and seek only to enjoy a time of fellowship with family and friends.
About the Author:
Ronnie Tanner is a contributing writer at Toomey’s Mardi Gras. He writes about Mardi Gras Throws and other industry specific topics.
Article Source: ArticlesBase.com – Religious Facts about Mardi Gras
“Auld Lang Syne” is a Scottish poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song. It is well known in many English-speaking countries and is often sung to celebrate the start of the New Year at the stroke of midnight.
Auld lang syne literally means “old long since”, but a more understandable English translation would be something like “long long ago”, “days of long ago”, or “olden days”. “For old times’ sake,” or “to the (good) old days,” or “to days(or times) gone by” may be other modern-day expressions with a similar meaning.
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and old lang syne ?
CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
and surely I’ll buy mine !
And we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.
CHORUS
We two have run about the slopes,
and picked the daisies fine ;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.
CHORUS
We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine† ;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.
CHORUS
And there’s a hand my trusty friend !
And give us a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.
CHORUS
If you are planning a New Years Eve party, you might be considering offering party favors to your guests. This is an excellent idea and can offer your guests a lovely memento of the party. Hosts of a New Years Eve party have a lot of options for favors. If the New Years Eve party has a theme, the host might consider offering a favor which goes with the theme of the party. If the New Years Eve party does not have a theme, the favor may be related to traditional symbols of the New Year or may be completely unrelated to the holiday season. This article will offer some advice for providing favors at a New Years Eve party including a few ideas for favors.
When hosting a New Years Eve party, it is important to decide whether or not your will give favors to your guests while you are still in the planning stages of the party. This is especially important if you are setting a strict budget for the New Years Eve party. Considering favors early in the planning process will help to ensure you budget properly and include enough money in the budget to purchase favors for all of your guests.
One idea for giving favors is to offer items which are traditionally associated with New Years Eve. Champagne glasses are popular choices for favors for a New Years Eve party. It is a nice touch to have the date of the party engraved on the glasses to make the favors more personal and to ensure the guests will always remember the party. Other favors which are considered appropriate for a New Years Eve party include clocks and top hats.
If you host a themed New Years Eve party, it is a good idea to give your guests a favor which is closely associated to the theme of the party. For example if you threw a New Years Eve party with a western theme you might consider giving the guests beer mugs instead of champagne glasses. For a New Years Eve party with a theme related to the ocean you could give guests seashells or sand sculptures as favors.
Another popular option for party favors at any party is candy. You can purchase candy in a variety of different shapes. You may opt for a shape which is appropriate for New Years Eve or a fun shape which is completely unrelated to the occasion.
A truly unique and fun idea for providing favors for a New Years Eve party is to ask each guest to bring a party favor to the New Years Eve party. The guests can either purchase a favor for the purpose of the party or they can bring a favor they received at another party. The favors can either be practically, whimsical, nostalgic or even silly. As the guests arrive you can collect the favors and place them at each place setting under an opaque cloth. Then as the guests are seated they can take turns unveiling their favor. The guest who provided the favor can either tell the true story of how they acquired the favor or they can make up the story about the favor. This way the favors also provide entertainment for the guests.
If you are planning a New Years Eve party, you may also be considering hiring a live band to play at your party. Hiring a live band is an excellent entertainment option for a New Years Eve party because the guests will enjoy listening to and dancing to the music throughout the evening. The band can also help to keep the guest energized throughout the evening. However, when you are planning to hire a band for your party there are some important considerations which you should make. This article will take a look at some of these considerations and will help to simplify the process of hiring a band to entertain at your New Years Eve party.
Availability is one of the first considerations in hiring a band for your New Years Eve party. New Years Eve is a very busy occasion for entertainers and it may be difficult to book the band of your choice for your party unless you plan your event well in advance. If your band of choice is unavailable, you should consider whether you would prefer to delay your party for a year until they are available or seek out another band to play at your party.
Price is another very important consideration in selecting a band to play at your New Years Eve party. Although it would be nice if you did not have to worry about money but unfortunately most party hosts will have to budget their party carefully. This means the budget for entertainment for the party will influence the band which is chosen to perform at the party. This means it might be necessary to make a decision to select one band over another based on the fees.
Style of music should also be considered when selecting a band to perform at a New Years Eve party. You may be tempted to select a band who you will enjoy hearing perform but it is important to also keep your guests in mind when selecting a band to perform at your party. Ideally the band you select to perform at your New Years Eve party will appeal to the majority of your guests.
You also have to consider the amount of space you have available for the band you hire to perform. This is important because a large band with 15 members will likely require significantly more than a band with only five members. If you are unsure about the amount of space the band will require, ask a representative from the band to visit the space and evaluate the size of the available space to determine if they will be able to fit their equipment and perform in the space.
When hiring a band, you may select a band you have seen perform in the past. This is one way to ensure the quality of the performance. However, if you have not seen any local bands perform, you might have to solicit recommendations from friends and family members. If you know someone who had a local band perform at her party, take the opportunity to ask her opinion of the band. If she recommends them and it sounds like they would be a good fit for your party, ask them to submit a sample of their music for you to review. You can also ask a few other bands to submit samples as well and you can compare these samples to determine which band you think will be best for your New Years Eve party. You might even consider inviting a few friends over to listen to the samples and help you make your decision. Having a few friends assist you is a good idea to help to ensure the band you select is sure to appeal to your guests. Once you select a band, you should ask to view their contract and carefully review the contract to ensure you do not object to any of the contract terms.