COUNTY LIFE
New Year’s Day trivia
The first New Year was celebrated 4,000 years by the ancient Babylonians.
It’s tradition to ring in New Year’s with family and friends because the first people you see will either give you good luck or bad luck. So make sure to keep friends close and foes very far away
More vehicles are stolen on New Year’s Day than any other holiday, statistics from the National Insurance Crime Bureau revealed.
The top three places to celebrate New Year’s Eve are Las Vegas, Disney World and of course, New York City. Internationally, one of the biggest celebrations is in Sydney, Australia. More than 80,000 fireworks are set off from Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Time Square New Year’s Eve Ball was first dropped in 1907 after there was a fireworks ban. Back then, a 700-pound ball embellished with 25-watt bulbs made of iron and wood was dropped. Now, however, it weighs 11,875 pounds, is 12 feet in diameter and is adorned with 2,668 Waterford crystals.
The tradition has continued in Times Square, except for in 1942 and 1943. The ball was not lowered because of wartime restrictions.
In Italy, people wear red underwear on New Year’s Day to bring good luck all year long.
In Colombia, Cuba and Puerto Rico, some families stuff a large doll, which is called Mr. Old Year, with memories from the past year. They also dress him in clothes from the outgoing year. At midnight, he is set ablaze, thus burning away the bad memories.
It’s good luck to eat foods like black eyed peas, ham and cabbage because it is thought they bring prosperity. But if you want to have a happy new year, don’t eat lobster or chicken. Lobsters can move backward and chickens can scratch in reverse, so it is thought these foods could bring a reversal of fortune.
Chinese New Year is celebrated the second full moon after the winter solstice.
Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah. Apples and honey are traditionally eaten.
In ancient Rome the new year began on March 1.
The traditional New Year’s song, “Auld Lang Syne,” means, “times gone by.”
The top 10 resolutions are usually to lose weight, eat more healthily, exercise more, stop smoking, stick to a budget, save money, get more organized, be more patient, find a better job and to just be a better person over all.
Using a baby to signify the New Year began in ancient Greece around 600 B.C.
In recognition of National Adoption Awareness Month this November, Texas Community Counseling and the Heart Gallery of Northwest Texas are partnering to bring resources to Montague County families.
The two organizations will host an adoption, foster care and kinship care resource fair on Nov. 14 at the United Presbyterian Church of Montague County Fellowship Hall, located at 300 W. Nelson St. in Bowie.
The resource fair will run from 10 a.m. to noon, bringing together local agencies and service providers to answer questions and share information about support available within the county.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
Members of the Montague County Historical Commission invite the community to join them on Nov. 14 for a Rolling Bus Tour.
This tour will cover the cemeteries in the south west corner of Montague County. You will have the opportunity to stroll through some of the cemeteries, others the bus will stop and Commission member Calvin Durham will tell the history of the cemetery.
The bus tour will meet at the Old Jail in Montague at 9 a.m. and return at approximately 3 p.m. The tour will include a sack lunch, a brochure of each cemetery visited and a book “This Soil will Grow Grapes” written by Melvin Fenoglio.
The cost of the tour is $20 for adults. There is no charge for children under 12. The commission members strive to preserve the history of the county and to share as much of it as possible with our citizens. You can RSVP by calling 940-841-2674 or 940-872-1007. Please leave a message with your name if there is no answer.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System at 1:20 p.m. on Nov. 17.
FEMA’s emergency alert system is a national public warning system made up of thousands of radio, TV, cable and satellite and wireline video providers. Through the EAS, the President can address the American people or share life-saving information with the public during a national emergency.
FEMA is required by law to conduct a nationwide test of the public alert and warning system at least once every three years. These tests allow FEMA to identify technical or operational issues before the system is needed during an actual emergency.
FEMA and the FCC are sharing the test date in advance because it is important the public understands what to expect on the day of the test.
At approximately 1:20 p.m. (Central time), on Nov. 17, all the electronics providers will interrupt normal programming to relay a test message.
This message will state: This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency management Agency, covering the United States from 1:20 to 1:50 p.m. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.”
When the test is concluded, normal programming will resume.
FEMA and the FCC are coordinating with stakeholders, including participating communications providers as well as federal, state, tribal and territorial agencies to prepare for and conduct the test.
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