When September rolls round you know the autumn is approaching, the beginning of the school year is near and for Jewish people, September means that Rosh Hashanah is soon to be upon them.

What is Rosh Hashanah? “Rosh Hashanah” literally means “head of the year” because it marks the Jewish New Year. But why do Jewish people celebrate their New Year in September or October rather than in January? And what exactly is involved in a Jewish New Year celebration?

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Why is the Jewish New Year date in September or October?

Whilst Rosh Hashanah doesn’t occur on the first month of either the Christian or Jewish calender, it does occur on the first day of Tishrei (the 7^th month of the Jewish calendar).  Since the Jewish calendar is lunisolar and differs from the Western calender it means that the date of the Jewish New Year changes every year, but it is always between the 5^th of September and the 5^th of October.

So why is the Jewish New Year celebrated on the first of Tishrei? Because according to rabbinic tradition it is believed that the creation of the world was finished on this date, and what better date to celebrate the beginning of a new year than the anniversary of the creation of the world?

Interpretations differ but some say that Tishrei 1^st marks the completion of the creation of the World or Universe whilst others say it marks the completion of the creation of Man (or more specifically Adam and Eve).

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Besides being the New Year, what is the meaning of Rosh Hashanah? What exactly is meant to happen on the anniversary of creation?

Rosh Hashanah is not just an anniversary. As well as being an anniversary, it is also Judgement Day. (Cue lightening and ominous thunderclaps!)

It is interesting that the astrology’s zodiac signs associate September time with Libra, the scales, because Jewish people believe that in this time of year God brings out his “day of judgement” scales to weigh up each person’s good and bad deeds.

The religious theory is that on Rosh Hashanah, if God deems a person to be extremely good, He writes their name down in His Book of Life and Blessing, whilst those who are deemed extremely evil have their names written down in the Book of Death and Misfortune.

What is the significance of your name appearing in either of these books? It is believed that those inscribed into the Book of Life and Blessing are destined for Heaven whereas those who don’t make it into this book are setting themselves up to go elsewhere. Some also believe that your coming year may be impacted depending on how you have been judged by God.

Most people are neither extremely good nor extremely bad, so their names do not become written down in either of these books on Rosh Hashanah. Instead, for the average Joe, God assigned a ten day period of grace. During this time peopel can repent for their sins, ask forgiveness and commit to changing their ways to be worthy of being inscribed in the Book of Life and Blessing rather than in the Book of Death and Misfortune.

The tenth day is marked by the solemnest Jewish holy day of the year: Yom Kippur, the Day of Repentence. On this day the Jewish people believe God makes his final judgement regarding which book a person should be allocated. These ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are therefore a time of introspection, repentence and planning to make positive change over the coming new year and beyond.

If you’ve ever heard Jewish people wishing each other a Happy New Year or good wishes for Yom Kippur you might have heard the sayings:

• L’shana tova tikatvu, which means “May you be inscribed for a good year”
• Gmar chatima tova, which means “May you have a good signing” (in the books).

Some other more common blessings which don’t mention the inscription are “Shana Tova!” which means “Have a good year!” or “Shana tova ve metuka!” which means “Have a good and sweet year!”. (An alternative way of saying the latter is: “Shana tova u’metuka”).

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How to celebrate Rosh Hashanah:

How are you supposed to celebrate Rosh Hashanah?

1.) Sounding the Shofar

One of the famous traditions of Rosh Hashanah is blowing on a ram’s horn trumpet called a shofar.

Why is a shofar blown on Rosh Hashanah?

The shofar is blown because the Bible says that’s what you’re meant to do (It quite literally says: “In the seventh month on the first day of the month shall be a solemn rest to you, a memorial proclaimed with the blast of horns.” Leviticus. XXIII, 24). However, that aside, there is more reason to sounding the shofar than this. The Bible doesn’t specify the reason, but scholars have suggested several theories why the shofar is sounded. Some of them include:

• Reminder of Judgement Day: Before Rosh Hashana the shofar is blown to remind people of the coming Judgement by God.

• Call to battle: Sounding a shofar was done in ancient times to call people to battle. On Rosh Hashanah, the shofar is sounded to call you to battle against your inner enemies, an internal fight against your darker side.
• Call to move forward: It’s symbolic of moving forward into a new year because in the days when the Israelites were wandering through the desert from Egypt to the Promised Land they were urged on and directed by the sounding of the shofar. In a similar way Rosh Hashana urges you forward and directs you towards a better direction.
• Reminder of the Biblical story of the Near Sacrifice of Isaac: One of the famous Biblical tales is that Abraham almost sacrificed his precious son, Isaac to God, but that God stopped him, telling him that human life is sacred and human sacrifices should not be made in the name of God. Instead God sent a ram which Abraham sacrificed, and the ram’s horn shofar is a reminder of this story, reminding us that in life, sometimes sacrifices are made for the sake of doing the right thing, but it is also important to remember the limits of acceptable sacrifices made in the name of God.
• Call to remind of God’s presence: There is a passage in the Bible that says that when the Israelites gathered around Mount Sinai to receive the holy scripture, the Torah, a shofar was sounded to announce that God was in their midst. Similarly, on Rosh Hashana, the shofar reminds Jewish people that God is always nearby, an ever more important thing to remember on Judgement Day.

The Shofar Sounds

There is a special way to blow a shofar:

• Long unbroken sound: At first, a long unbroken sound is made. Some interpret this as indicating the wholeness and complete happiness which life can bring.
• Intermittent toots (“broken” sounds) of the shofar: Some say the broken sounds that follow the initial unbroken tone indicate that life also has moments of pain. The sound of the shofar here is reminiscent of broken weeping.
• Final unbroken tone: The shofar ritual is finished with another long note, indicating that even if there is pain, there is still hope to be whole again, so people are encouraged not to give up when times are hard.

One hundred shofar tones are sounded each day as part of the shofar blowing ritual.

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2.)  Rosh Hashanah food

a.) Apple in honey

One of the Rosh Hashanah traditions is to eat an apple dipped in honey. This is a tradition that is thought to have arisen in late medieval times by the Ashkenazi Jews.

The significance of the apple is under debate, but possible reasons for why it is eaten include:

(i.)  Symbolism:

• It symbolizes a wish for a sweet new year ahead. Even if the apple is a little sour, dipping it in honey expresses a hope that the bitterness can be turned to sweeter times.
• When an apple is sliced horizontally, the seeds and patterns inside the apple form a 5-pointed star and 10 little holes. In Hebrew, each number stands for a letter, and the numbers 5 and 10 spell out one acronym for the word “God” (hey, yud). This makes the apple particularly appropriate as a reminder of God’s presence.

• When an apple grows from a tree, first comes the first sign of fruit, and only then the leaves surround it, the bloom intensifies and the fruit grows. This is paralleled with the need to show your bud of righteousness as you observe God and try to be good. This must be done before the full beautiful bloom and growth of the fruit can come.
• One theory that is not true but is still a nice one, is that the apple represents the weakness of man because many lay-people think that the apple was the temptation from the Tree of Knowledge which got Adam and Eve booted out of the Garden of Eden. By dipping the apple in honey it symbolizes that personal weaknesses can be overcome. However, since the apple is likely not to have been the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, this theory is unlikely to be true.

(ii.) Practical reasons like the fact that it’s easily obtainable throughout the world.

Sephardic Jews sometimes make a fruit compote called mansanada with apples.

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b.) Rosh Hashanah honey cake (and other honeyed foods)

Like the apple dipped in honey, honey cake and other honeyed foods are traditional on Rosh Hashanah to mark a hope for a sweet year ahead.

Note that in Biblical times, the tradition would have referred to honey made from fruit (like date syrup) rather than bee-honey which was very expensive and rare.

Aside from honey cake, other traditional sweet dishes often eaten at Rosh Hashanah include challah bread dipped in honey, honeyed chicken with almonds, teiglach and tzimmes.

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c.) Round challah

Whilst during the year a braided loaf of challah is eaten, on Rosh Hashana the challah is often round.

Why a round challah?

The round challah may symbolize several possible things:

• Cycle of the year: It may symbolize the cycle of the year that has passed and the new cycle that is about to begin.
• The circle of life: It also symbolizes that like a circle, although it is the end of a year, it also carries a wish for a good long life, like a circle that doesn’t have an end.
• Crown of Judgement: As God is responsible for judging on Rosh Hashanah, a round challah may symbolize a crown, reflecting His king-like role in judging His people.
• Reminder to change negative behaviours and habits: The word “shana” (as in Rosh haSHANA) has several meanings including “year”, “repeat” and “change”. The round challah may reflect these meanings in one visual symbol, effectively saying that it’s a good time of year to break out of the cycle of repetitive negative behaviours, and that it’s an opportunity to establish new positive patterns.

Carrots which carry a similar meaning to the circular challah, are also often eaten on Rosh Hashanah. They also carry connotations of a wish to be abundant and multiply. Some believe that the round sliced carrot “coins” symbolize this abundance and prosperity for the coming year.

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d.) Pomegranate

If you look at Rosh Hashanah cards you’ll often notice a picture of a pomegranate decorating them. This is because the pomegranate is one of the traditionally consumed foods in the Jewish New Year. Why a pomegranate on Rosh Hashanah?

• Many seeds wishing fruitfulness: The many seeds of the pomegranates symbolize fertility and fruitfulness for the year ahead. A pomegranate to commemorate the new year is not only a Jewish tradition. In Mediterranean countries like Greece they also have pomegranates as part of their new year rituals, where the abundance of seeds is a symbol for good fortune and prosperity.
• 613 seeds for 613 good deeds: It is thought that there are 613 seeds in a pomegranate, the same number as the number of good deeds which are written in the scriptures (these good deeds are called “mitzvot”). By eating pomegranates you are effectively saying “in this year ahead may you do as many good deeds as are seeds in this pomegranate”. Others believe that even more importantly, eating a pomegranate reminds God of all the good deeds we’ve done over the past year and in the past.

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e.) Animal heads

To celebrate the “head of the year”, animal heads like fish heads, and head-parts like tongue are sometimes eaten on Rosh Hashanah. Fish heads are popular because fish is another symbol of fertility and abundance, a good thing to eat if it brings these things in the new year. Some Jews eat Gefilte fish on the Jewish New Year.

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f.) Foods whose names imply wishes for a good year ahead:

There are many other symbolic foods eaten on Rosh Hashanah each with its own meaning, including:

• Dates: The word for dates relates to the word תם “tum” which means “to end”, signifying and end of negative influences in life for a good year ahead.
• Black-eyed beans symbolizing good fortune and abundance. This meaning comes from the words for black-eyed beans: “rubiya” or “lubiya” which are cognates of the Hebrew word “harbeh”, meaning “many”, or abundance.
• Leek: Sephardic Jews in particular eat leeks in the form of fritters called keftedes de prasa. Leeks are also related to removing the negative in life because the word for leek (כרתי) is related to the word כרת “karat” which means “to cut”.
  Greens are often associated with money, a good omen for wealth.
• Gourd or pumpkin: Especially in Sephardic tradition, pumpkin-filled pastries are eaten called rodanchas. The word for gourd is קרא related to the word קרע “kera” which means “to rip”, symbolizing removal of negative things in life for the coming year.
• Beetroot: The word for beetroot in Hebrew is סלק “selek” which is related to the Hebrew word סלק “salek” meaning “depart”. This signified a wish to let all the negative influences in a person’s life depart.

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3.) Tashlich (or Tashlikh)

Tashlich comes from the Hebrew word “Tishalch” which means “to send away”, and the ritual involves a display of “sending away” your sins.

People go to places of flowing water like a river or sea and empty their pockets into the water with a declaration that their sins are being carried away. Sometimes small pieces of bread or pebbles are put in the pockets beforehand so that you have something physical to send into the waters.

The Tashlich tradition is a ritual based on the words of the prophet Micah who said: “And you will cast all of your sins into the depth of the sea”.

Tashlich is not essential in order to repent and throw away our sins, but it can help some people to admit to anything they may have done wrong and it can help them along their path towards repentance. Tashlich alone does not make everything ok however. For that to happen people need to truly make a commitment to never repeat the same sins again. Only then does repentance really mean something.

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When is Rosh Hashanah in the coming years?

2016:   2nd October, at sunset (start of Jewish Year 5777)

2017:   20^th September, at sunset (start of Jewish Year 5778)

2018:   9^th September, at sunset (start of Jewish Year 5779)

2019:   29^th September, at sunset (start of Jewish Year 5780)

2020:   18^th September, at sunset (start of Jewish Year 5781)

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The origin of the wedding ring custom began in Ancient Egypt
Some suggest that since Neanderthal times gifts were exchanged as tokens of a special relationship. However the origin of an actual ring being given as a token of love appears to date back to Ancient Egypt, about 5000 years ago. We know this through archaeological evidence which found hieroglyphics depicting wedding bands.

The Egyptian grooms would take plant stems from reeds and rushes, and they’d twist and plait them into rings and bracelets which would then be presented to their brides.

It is believed the Egyptians considered the circular shape a symbol of ever-lasting love and good omens, as it is also the shape of the holy Sun and the Moon.

The hole in the centre of the ring was symbolic of the unknown things to come in their new life as a married couple.

Like many of us today, the Egyptians wore their wedding ring on the 4th finger of the left hand. The origin of this custom is from the belief that there was a vein running from this ring finger, all the way to the heart. So by wearing a ring on this finger you are saying that the person who gave you that ring has a direct link to your heart.

The wedding ring tradition was passed down through the Ancient Greeks and Romans

Many years later, the Ancient Greeks adopted this wedding ring custom and belief as their own, when they conquered Egypt in 332 BC. Fast-forward a few more years and this tradition was passed on to the Romans, who added a name to this special heart-linked vein, calling it the “vena amoris”: the vein of love.

Over time, wedding rings evolved and were no longer made of plant stems, but of more durable leather, ivory, bone and once the art of metalwork became more refined, they began to be made of metal, although the first metal rings were quite uneven and uncomfortable to wear! In Roman times, most rings were made of iron.

Over time, the symbol of the ring also evolved. For many, the ring somewhat lost some of it’s romantic significance, as marriage became more of a contract for security than an exchange of love. The ring became the mark of a legal agreement, marking a contract between families rather than between lovers, where the ring was the binding force. The ring became an indication of financial security that the husband could offer his new wife.

At this time only women would wear engagement and wedding rings. In fact, in the early 1900s, reports show that only about 15% of grooms wore a wedding ring. Men only started wearing wedding rings in comparatively modern times, around the time of World War II, and later the Korean War, when men wanted a physical reminder of their wives to bring them cheer and hope as they fought far from home.

Back in Roman times, so much did the ring become a sign of offering financial security, that there was even a phase when it was fashionable for women to be given rings with keys attached to them, where the key was her access to her husband’s safety deposit box of valuables.

The wedding ring tradition passed down to Medieval Times
In line with this view of marriage as a necessary means to give a woman financial security, in Medieval Europe, the more expensive the metal for the ring, the “better” the man’s marriage proposal was seen to be.

Once gold metalwork began, it soon became the material of choice for wedding rings. And if a man could afford gemstones on the ring as well – all the better! Sometimes further gifts of leather pouches full of gold and silver were given to the bride as part of the marriage ceremony following the ring exchange.

Romance was not dead however, as ruby gemstones in the ring not only showed the wealth of the husband, but also symbolized the colour of love. Similarly, diamonds became the symbol of indestructible and long-lasting love, as of 1477 when the first documented diamond ring was given by the Viennese Archduke Maximilian to his beloved Mary of Burgundy. Diamond rings only really became popular around the 1930s.

The Christianization of the wedding ring tradition
Although there are no Christian biblical references decreeing the ring as part of the wedding ceremony, there are some references to rings being given as tokens of fidelity (Genesis 24:22.30.53; and 41:42) and symbols of adoption (Esth 8:2,8; Luke 15:22). Considering this together with considerations of the public popularity of the marriage ring custom, in the 12th century, Pope Innocent III officially accepted the ring exchange into the Christian wedding ceremony. He created the tradition of placing the ring on the index finger, middle finger and finally ring finger, representing the Holy Trinity, as they recited: “In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost”.

The precise lines recited in the Christian ceremony alluding to the ring vary depending on the Christian sect:

• Church of England: “With this ring I thee wed, with my body I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow: In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.”
• Roman Catholic: “Take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”
• Anglican, Episcopal, Protestant: “I give you this ring as a symbol of my vow [or love], and with all that I am and all that I have, I honour you, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
• Presbyterian: “This ring I give you, in token and pledge of our constant faith and abiding love”

(So next time you hear the ring exchange at a wedding, you’ll be able to tell what type of Christianity the married couple are, by the words used in the ring exchange!)

Not all Christians adopted the ring-giving tradition. Some Christian groups shun the idea of jewellery altogether, believing it to be wasteful and immoral, and believing it promotes the negative idea that beauty is on the outside rather than on the inside. (This is based on 1 Timothy 2:9-10 and 1 Peter 3:3-4). As a result, in 19th century America, a tradition of giving a thimble as an engagement gift arose, rather than a ring. In spite of this – slightly rebellious brides may have removed the top of the thimble to make it into a secret ring!

So what does the engagement and wedding ring tradition symbolize today?

1.) The Circle as a sign of eternal, never-ending love
The original Egyptian symbolism of the ring remains: It’s circular shape being the mark of eternal love. An unbroken promise of commitment and love.

2.) Chinese Symbolism
There is a really beautiful ancient Chinese symbolism related to wearing the wedding ring on the ring finger.

It’s easiest to explain the significance of the ring finger through a little demonstration:

• Put your hands together, palm to palm.
• Keeping all you finger tips touching, unlink your middle finger, and place it touching finger-joint-to-finger-joint as shown in the diagram below.
  
• Now try and unlink each finger, one by one. See how the thumb unlinks easily? Put it back and try and unlink the index fingers – easy to unlink again. Now try unlinking your little finger – no problem there. But lastly, try to unlink your ring fingers. You can’t!

Chinese tradition associates your thumb with your parents, your index finger with your siblings, your middle finger with yourself, your ring finger with your life partner and soul mate, and your little finger with your children. The symbolism is that you can separate from parents as you fly the nest; you separate from siblings as you grow older, move out of the family home, and each sibling has their own family; you separate from your children when they grow up. But your soul mate and life partner is someone we don’t separate from. Like the ring fingers in this demonstration, soul mates stay linked together strongly throughout life. This is why the ring is worn on this finger according to Chinese custom.

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In other parts of the world, New Year traditions are a little bit different…

Spain: Why do I have to gulp down 12 grapes at midnight?

In Spain, their New Year’s Eve tradition is for each person to have 12 washed grapes at the ready. As the clock chimes midnight it is customary to eat 12 grapes, one for each chime of the clock.

Why is this tradition done? It all started in 1909 when there was a huge surplus of grapes in the country. Instead of having them rot, one clever soul had the bright idea of using the grapes as part of a fun New Year’s activity.  The idea behind it was that each grape represents a month of the year. A sweet grape means that month will be a sweet one for you, whilst a sour grape is less of a good omen. In other households the tradition is to make a wish on each grape.

The challenge is to try and swallow them all before the last chime of the clock. By the final chime, the year has likely already started in good humor as everyone gazes round at their fellow celebrators with their hamster-like bulging cheeks!

Since 1909, this fun tradition has spread to Portugal, Mexico, Venezuela, Guatamala, Cuba and Peru.

Philippines: Why do I wear polka dots on New Year’s Eve?

In the Philippines, the circle is the shape of the day on New Year’s Eve. Why? Because it’s the shape of coins so is a tradition for attracting wealth and fortune in the new year.

As a result, it is a Filipino New Year custom to:

1. Wear polka dotted clothes, or at least wear something with a circle on it
2. Tossing and throwing circular coins at the stroke of midnight
3. Eat round fruits: It is not uncommon to find a New Year’s Eve table laid out with a wide array of circular fruits as festive decoration.

Denmark: Why do I jump off a chair at midnight?

In Denmark it is a New Year’s tradition to climb up on chairs, and leap off them as the clock strikes midnight.

Why do they do it? It is aimed to banish bad spirits, bring good luck and symbolically shows you are ready to leap into the new year ahead.

There was another interesting Danish New Year tradition that is sadly obsolete these days, which involved throwing and smashing plates on friends’ and neighbours’ doors. The more friends you have who cared enough to smash a plate lovingly on your door, the higher your pile of broken crockery on your doorstep, and the better the omen. The higher the pile, the better luck you have for the year ahead.

Scotland & Iceland: Why do I have bonfires on New Year’s Eve?

A lot of countries that were once inhabited by Vikings retained the Viking tradition of making bonfires to banish bad spirits and purify everything for the year to come. Some parts of Scotland and Iceland still have these yearly bonfires on New Year’s Eve.

South America, Central America & Italy: Why do I have to wear certain coloured underwear on New Year’s Eve?

In South America, Central America and Italy, certain coloured underwear is believed to be lucky.

• Red underwear is meant to bring love
• Yellow underwear is said to bring money or happiness or just good luck, depending on who you ask

Ecuador: Why do I burn Scarecrows in my yard on New Year’s Eve?

In many places around the world people count down and at the stroke of midnight, they kiss. In Ecuador they do things a little differently. They count down, and at the stroke of midnight… they burn a scarecrow!

House after house, you can see people gathered outside, around a burning scarecrow.

Why do they do it? It is believed that the scarecrow scares away bad luck in the same was that it works to scare away birds in the field. The act of scarecrow burning is effectively a purification of bad things, paving the way for good luck in the year ahead.

Norway & Germany: Why do I eat circular pastries on New Year’s Eve?

In Germany and Norway, circular foods are customarily eaten on New Year’s Eve. In Germany doughnuts are popular, and in Norway kransekake (ring cake) may be eaten. The circular shape represents a year coming to a full circle, as you complete one year’s cycle and are ready for the next one.

Mexico: Why do I find coins in my sweet bread on New Year’s Eve?

It is a Mexican tradition to bake sweet bread with some buns having a coin or a charm hidden in them. Finding one of these gifts in your snack is an omen of good luck for the coming year.

There is another Mexican tradition which involves making lists of all the negative things you’ve experienced in the past year, and then burning these lists in a bonfire. The idea is to clean away any cobwebs from the past year and enter the new year free from these old worries.

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Why do I have the day off on Boxing Day?
If you live in the UK, the reason that Boxing Day is a day off from work is down to the 1871 Bank Holidays Act. It was only after 1871 that the 26th December (or the closest day after Christmas that wasn’t a weekend day) was announced to be a Bank Holiday. It was largely through the work of Liberal MP Sir John Lubbock that Bank Holidays like Boxing day became a thing, since it was he who campaigned for the rights of shop workers and was a driving force behind the passing of the 1871 Act.

But where does the idea of taking the day off come from?
There are several theories about this.

We take the day after Christmas off because it’s St Stephen’s day, a lesser known name for Boxing day.

Incidentally, St Stephen’s day has everything to do with the “Feast of Stephen” to which we refer to in the Christmas carol “Good King Wenceslas” that goes:

‘Good King Wenceslas looked out,
On the Feast of Stephen…’

St Stephen was the first Christian martyr. He was also the first Deacon in the Church, and because one of the main roles of a Church Deacon is to look after the poor, St. Stephen’s Day is often considered a day for giving food, money, and other items to servants, sevice workers, and the needy.

St Stephen’s message of helping the poor also reveals why we call his day Boxing Day. The boxes it refers to are almsboxes used to collect money for the poor. Christians carried out St Stephen’s message by collecting money in a number of different ways including a special collection day on Christmas Day. Sailors would drop money into a box throughout their voyage, as a donation to God to ensure their safe journey. Once safely back on land, the money would be donated to the Church.

Since early Christianity (which includes during Roman times), the day after Christmas was the day that Churches gave all the money they’d collected in almsboxes to the needy. The opening of the almsboxes is one of the strongest theories behind why we call St Stephen’s day, Boxing Day.

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In a similar spirit, employers often gave servants December 26th off to spend the day with their families. The theory goes that employers would give their servants a box of bonuses, or gifts, and sometimes leftover Christmas food. In Victorian times, tradesmen too profited from Boxing day as a day when they collected their Christmas boxes and gifts from happy clients, giving thanks for their good service throughout the year.

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Today, the spirit of giving is on the whole no longer really a part of Boxing Day, since most schools today don’t teach what the day was originally about, so most people never learned about St Stephen and his day of giving. But a similar Giving Spirit is often quite palpable in the air around Christmas time. So perhaps St Stephen’s noble generous spirit and giving nature still lives on in us around this festive season, regardless of whether we attribute this to St Stephen and the official Boxing Day, or whether we attribute it to a deeply ingrained, long-held tradition of maintaining the generous, giving, Christmas Spirit.

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Why do we sing Auld Lang Syne on New Year’s Eve?

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Auld Lang Syne is world famous for two main reasons:

1. It’s famous for being sung on New Year’s Eve in English speaking countries around the world, from the USA, to the Philippines, Zimbabwe, India and to Singapore.
2. It’s famous for being one of the most popular songs whose words people don’t know!

So let’s solve several mysteries: Why do we sing Auld Lang Syne on New Year’s Eve, what on earth *are* the lyrics and equally as important – what do they mean?

What words are we actually singing?

Lyrics in Scottish Dialect (first verse & chorus):

(restored but not created by Robert Burns, 1788)

Should old acquaintances be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear
For auld Lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!

Lyrics Translation in more understandable English:

Should old acquaintances be forgotten
and never remembered?
Should old acquaintance be forgotten
From days gone by (literally: “for old long ago”)?

From days gone by, my dear
From days gone by,
We will take a cup of kindness yet
From days gone by!

Why do we sing Auld Lang Syne on New Year’s Eve?

Auld Lang Syne is a Scottish song about remembering old friends and all the good times they brought. You can see why this theme would have been appropriate to sing on New Years Eve, where we often remember all the good times we’ve had over the past year.

Before 1929, Auld Lang Syne was mostly famous within Scotland and the Scottish community.

A Canadian musician by the name of Guy Lombordo had heard the song sung amidst the Canadian Scottish community in London, Ontario.

He liked it so much that he and his band played Auld Lang Syne as one of their regular songs.

It is said that in 1929, Lombordo and his band were playing for a New Year’s Eve party in New York City, and at the stroke of midnight they played Auld Lang Syne. The band’s dispersal of the song soon spread to the radio and TV as their New Year’s Eve piece and this was the start of a new worldwide New Year tradition.

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You’re at a New Year’s Eve Party about to ring in the New Year. It’s almost midnight. You look around for who you’ll be kissing at midnight… but wait! Why do we have this tradition of kissing someone at midnight anyway?

The Origins of the New Year Kiss
The tradition of kissing at midnight is a tradition borrowed from the Roman era, from the Winter Solstice festival of Saturnalia.

Not only is Saturnalia behind this New Year’s Eve tradition, but it is also responsible for many of our Christmas traditions (written about here), including the customs of kissing under the mistletoe, and putting up Christmas wreaths and trees.

But why do we kiss at midnight? What does the kiss represent?
Some say the New Year Kiss represented an eradication and purification of evil spirits from the year that’s just gone, setting you in good stead for a fresh new year.

In more modern times further superstitions arose around the New Year kiss; the main superstition being that this kiss would set the tone of your coming year.

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