LIFESTYLE: The New Year's Traditions and Beliefs

LIFESTYLE: The New Year’s Traditions and Beliefs

By Jorge Jefferds December 31, 2014 

From ancient times, people have welcomed the New Year with rituals to attract good fortune and positive energy. A holiday with deep ritual roots, when for centuries celebrants have been observing the end of one year and the beginning of another.

Ancient Romans celebrated with six days of carousing that would probably be familiar to us today. St. Boniface, a missionary from England who visited Rome in 742, was appalled at how the Romans celebrated Kalends of January, as the New Year was called, with "dancing in the streets, heathenish cries, sacrilegious songs, tables laden with food and women wearing amulets and offering them for sale."

Because the Winter Solstice is the turning point of the year, beginning the lengthening of days, it has long been viewed as the birth of the year--by pagans celebrating the return of the Sun, and by Christians welcoming the birth of the Son of God. The days between Solstice and the New Year are a magical, luminous time period, when anything is possible. In England, the Twelve Days of Christmas were considered omen days which could be used to predict the weather in the coming year. In Scotland, no court had power during these days; and in Ireland, tradition held that if a person died during the Twelve Days, he or she went straight to Heaven.

In ancient Babylon, the days between the Winter Solstice and the New Year were seen as the time of a struggle between Chaos and Order, with Chaos trying to take over the world. Other cultures (Hindu, Chinese, and Celtic) also viewed this as a time for reversing order and rules-celebrants would change roles with servants or dress in costumes for a time until order was restored.

While each culture's New Year celebration has its own flavor, there are certain common themes. The period leading up to New Year's Day is a time for setting things straight: a thorough housecleaning, paying off debts, returning borrowed objects, reflecting on one's shortcomings, mending quarrels, giving alms. In many cultures, people jump into the sea or a local body of water-literally washing the slate clean.

In some towns in Italy, according to some local sayings, you have to watch out for falling objects, as people shove their old sofas, chairs and even refrigerators out of their windows on New Year's Eve. In Ecuador, people make dummies, stuffed with straw, to represent the events of the past year. These "año viejo" effigies are burned at midnight, thus symbolically getting rid of the past.

Whatever preparations are made, most traditions teach that they should be completed before midnight on New Year's Eve. According to British folklore, you should not sweep on New Year's Day, or you will sweep your good luck away, or take anything out of the house-even trash. You only want to bring new things in to insure abundance in the coming year. If you must carry something out, be sure to bring something else in first, preferably a coin concealed outside the previous night.

Everything you do on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day is freighted with significance for the future. The American custom of spending the night with the one you love and kissing them at midnight insures that the relationship will flourish during the coming year. In Rio de Janeiro, more than a million people gather on the beaches on December 31st to honor Yemanja, the Yoruban "Mother of the Sea," who brings good fortune. Even the color of underwear Brazilians wear on the first day of the New Year has meaning. Pink brings love, yellow, prosperity; and white, peace and happiness.
The pig is the symbol of good luck in Vienna, Austria. Pigs are let loose in restaurants and everyone tries to touch them for luck as they run by. In private homes, a marzipan pig, with a gold piece in its mouth, is suspended from a ribbon and touched instead. In Greece, it's customary to throw a pomegranate wrapped in silver foil on the threshold, to spread the seeds of good luck for an abundant year.

In Spanish-speaking countries, people put twelve grapes into their wine or champagne glass at midnight. The grapes represent the months of the old year and the new one. At the stroke of midnight, after toasting each other with the wine, people eat the grapes as quickly as possible, making a wish on each one.

As everything has significance on New Year's Day, the first person to cross your threshold after midnight brings luck to the household in the British Isles. In Scotland, the best possible "first-footer" was a tall, handsome, dark-haired man, who brought gifts of whisky, bread, a piece of coal or firewood, and a silver coin. He entered in silence, and no one spoke to him until he put the coal on the fire, poured a glass of whisky for the head of the house and wished everyone a Happy New Year. In France, the children knock on their parents' bedroom door, pretending to personify health, abundance and joy, which the parents welcome.

Food eaten on New Year's Day is said to affect the quality of the coming year. The ancient Romans exchanged bay and palm branches hung with sweets, dates, figs and gilded fruits. The items hung on the branch expressed hopes the New Year would be sweet, fertile, and prosperous.

Neapolitans still wrap dried figs in laurel leaves and exchange them as a kind of insurance of abundance for the coming year. They also make confections of caramelized dough and tiny almond pieces, so the year will be sweet. The Piedmonteses eat little grains of rice which represent money. The traditional Umbrian New Year's cake, made of almonds, sugar, and egg whites, is shaped like a coiled snake, probably to represent the way snakes shed their skin to renew themselves, just as people leave behind the old year and embrace the new. Italians also serve lentils, raisins, and oranges, symbols of riches, good luck, and the promise of love.

In South America, the traditional is to eat cornbread, cabbage, and black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. The peas symbolize coins or copper money, the cornbread gold, and the cabbage green or folding money.

A Japanese New Year's custom is the money tree: pine and cypress branches placed in a vase, and decorated with old coins and paper pomegranates and flowers. Old coins (with holes in them) are strung on colored threads in the shape of dragon and put at the foot of children's beds. This is called "cash to pass the year." It is supposed to be saved and not spent. However, money is given as a gift, usually in red envelopes.

Although many of these customs may seem superstitious, they all stem from a similar belief: by ending the old year with respect and beginning the new one in the way we would like it to begin. We establish our intentions for the New Year. Whether we gather together to watch the ball drop in Times Square or set off firecrackers at midnight or clink champagne glasses with our loved ones, we are recalling an important transition and welcoming a fresh start. May your New Year be rich with all of the blessings of you wish.

TRAVEL: Champagne-The French Region, Where The Finest Sparkling Wine Was Born

Champagne – The French Region, Where The Finest Sparkling Wine Was Born

By Jorge Jefferds December 30, 2014

In New Year’s Eve, Christmas, and even in Birthday parties, Champagne is one of the irresistible traditional drinks nobody has ever ignored. Just the sparkling evokes elegance, romanticism, cheer, liveliness. Unlike common sparkling wines, Champagne is a trademark and owns the name received several centuries ago in the region with the same name.

Located in the northeast of France, the wine region is a historic province and best known for the production of the famous white wine. EU law and the laws of most countries reserve the term “Champagne” exclusively for wines that come from this region situated a hundred miles east of Paris. The viticultural boundaries of Champagne are defined into five wine producing districts: Aube, Cote de Blancs, Cote de Sezanne, Montagne de Reims, and Vallee de la Marnes. The towns of Reims and Epernay are the commercial centers of the area.

The history of the Champagne wine region has had a meaningful participation in the development of the internationally acclaimed wine industry. The area’s proximity to Paris encouraged the success of the local economy in its wine trade but also put the villages and vineyards in the path of marching armies on their way to the French capital.  Despite the frequency of these military conflicts, the region developed a reputation for quality wine production in the early Middle Ages and was able to continue that reputation as the region’s producers began making sparkling wine with the advent of the great Champagne houses in the 17th & 18th centuries. 

The principal grapes grown in the region include Chardonnay, Pinot noir, and Pinot Meunier. Pinot noir is the most widely planted grape in the Aube region and grows very well in Montagne de Reims. Pinot Meunier is the dominant grape in the Vallee de la Marne region. The Côte des Blancs is dedicated almost exclusively to Chardonnay.

The region’s reputation for wine production dates back to the Middle Age when Pope Urban II, a native Champenois, declared that the wine of Aÿ in the Marne département was the best wine produced in the world. For a time Aÿ was used as a shorthand designation for wines from the entire Champagne region, similar to the use of Beaune for the wines of Burgundy. The poet Henry d'Andeli's work La Bataille des Vins rated wines from the towns of Épernay, Hautvillers and Reims as some of the best in Europe.

As the region’s reputation grew, popes and royalty sought to own pieces of the land with Pope Leo X, Francis I of France, Charles V of Spain, and Henry VIII of England all owning vineyard land in the region. A batch of wine from Aÿ received in 1518 by Henry VIII’s chancellor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, is the first recorded export of wine from the Champagne region to England.

The still wines of the area were highly prized in Paris under the designation of vins de la rivière and vins de la montagne- wines of the river and wines of the mountain in reference to the wooded terrain and the river Marne which carried the wines down to the Seine and into Paris. The region was in competition with Burgundy for the Flemish wine trade and tried to capitalize on Reims’ location along the trade route from Beaune. In the 15th century, Pinot Noir became heavily planted in the area. The resulting red wine had difficulty comparing well to the richness and coloring of Burgundy wines, despite the addition of elderberries to deepen the color. This led to a greater focus on white wines.

The Champagne house of Gosset was founded as a still wine producer in 1584 and is the oldest Champagne house still in operation today. Ruinart was founded in 1729 and was soon followed by Chanoine Frères (1730), Taittinger (1734), Moët et Chandon (1743), and Veuve Clicquot (1772). The nineteenth century saw an explosive growth in Champagne production going from a regional production of 300,000 bottles a year in 1800 to 20 million bottles in 1850.

 

If you ever plan on a visit to this amazing place, consider the following hotels, where Champagne is an experience you will never miss.

Champagne Ployez-Jacquemart. €€. At this hotel in the middle of the Montagne de Reims vineyards, owners Gérard and Claude like to share their passion for champagne and open their arms to guests looking to learn about the champagne-making process and experience staying on a working winery. Choose between five rooms: Azur (white and duck-egg blue with 18th-century style furniture), Baroque (red in a boudoir style), Nature (light and airy with pale woods), Provence (yellow and oranges) and Savane (colonial). Meals can be served on request.

Château des Etoges. €€€. What strikes you most at this former 17th-century staging post for monarchs is the silence, broken only by the sprinkling of the natural fountains that pour into the moat surrounding the château. The 28 rooms conjure up images of palatial country living with high ceilings, ancient furniture and stone staircases; all have lovely views out on to the gardens or over the moat towards the orangery restaurant. It’s a listed building, so there’s no lift, but the receptionists will help you carry your bags up and down the stairs.

Les Crayères. €€€€. This opulent hideaway is easily one of the finest châteaux in eastern France. Happily located opposite the Pommery champagne house, the 20 luxurious rooms make for a truly unforgettable stay. Rooms overlooking the landscaped park (several with balconies) have fine views of Reims cathedral thanks to former owner Madame Pommery, who ordered a gap to be made in the trees. Service is five-star, the bathrooms are sumptuous and the breakfast is a lesson in fine dining itself. If you can’t afford to stay here, you can still stop by for a lavish afternoon tea or champagne in the 19th-century conservatory.

Les Grappes d’Or. €. Closed during grape harvest (early-mid Sept). In the tiny village of Cramant, surrounded by nothing but the prestigious Grand Cru vines, Eric and Carole Isselée welcome you into their home with a smile and a trip around the cellars. Three sunny rooms, named after the champagne they produce, feature tasteful French country furniture with quilted bedspreads, and all have wonderful views across the vines. Breakfast, which is served in your room, is included in the price.

La Villa Eugène. €€€. After years of lying derelict, the old Mercier champagne family house has finally been smartened up and can now stand proud as one of the best hotels Epernay has to offer. Rooms range in style from classical and airy with light colors, traditional fireplaces and antiques, to neo-colonial with dark woods and earthy tones. Even in winter you might need your sunglasses to eat breakfast in the restored conservatory – a veritable well of light that overlooks the garden and heated outdoor pool.

HEALTH: The Most Effective Food That Helps Relieve Nausea

By Jorge Jefferds December 24, 2014

Christmas is only a couple of hours ahead of us, and many people already began the celebrations. Food might be plenty today, and so the drinks are. The end of the year is also here. We don’t want to miss our favorite recipes, whose ingredients certainly seem to be rich in calories and fat. Even though, our body might respond very well to the excess, we don’t take the extra precautions, when this condition doesn’t happen at all. Vomiting, nausea, and food poisoning should never be ignored. Why to pay the highest price if we get sick after partying? Following this advice of what food to intake after experiencing nausea will help stay away of worse symptoms.

Apple

A little fiber goes a long way toward clearing nausea-inducing chemicals out of your system — but too much at one time can make you feel even worse. Throughout the day, snack on such fiber-rich foods as a whole apple (Gala apples are a good choice) and crunchy raw vegetables. Try applesauce or apple juice if you're having trouble digesting solid food.

Crackers

Foods high in starch — such as saltines, bread, and toast — help absorb stomach acids and settle a queasy stomach. Keep a handful of crackers on your nightstand; eating a few before you get out of bed may help ease nausea in the morning.

Ginger

Capsules of powdered ginger have been found to reduce nausea and vomiting. You could also try a cup of ginger tea, a glass of ginger ale (some people swear it works better if it's flat), a few gingersnap cookies, or a piece of ginger candy. Pickled ginger, the kind that usually comes with sushi, may also help.

Water

Small sips from a plain glass of water will help you stay hydrated — and avoid the headaches that often accompany nausea. Start out by slowly drinking tiny amounts until you feel you can stomach a larger amount.

Nuts

A lack of protein can make nausea feel even worse, so look to protein-packed foods, such as nuts — even peanut butter (as long as you're not allergic) — that are easy to digest. They'll quickly replenish your depleted energy and help keep your nausea at bay.

Chicken Broth

Chicken soup may make you feel better when you have a cold, but it's too heavy when you're nauseated. Instead try chicken broth to soothe your symptoms — the lower in fat, the better. Broth made from bouillon cubes may be your best bet because it's easy to prepare and less likely to spoil.

Sports Drinks

Most sports drinks contain the electrolytes sodium and potassium, which help restore an athlete's depleted nutrients. While you may not be up for sports, sports drinks can help even non-athletes feel better when they're suffering from nausea.

Banana

If your nausea is accompanied by dehydration, or if you have been vomiting, snack on a piece of this peel-and-eat fruit. Bananas can help restore potassium, which is often depleted as a result of diarrhea and vomiting. Doctors also recommend starting on "bland" foods like bananas when you're ready to eat solids again.

Sprig of Mint

The refreshing aroma alone may be enough to make you feel better, but actually chewing on fresh mint or drinking a glass of mint tea is considered an effective remedy for nausea.