Happy New Year's Eve!

It's 31 December 2009, which means that we're now counting down the hours to the beginning of a new decade.

You may well be planning to party in the New Year or carry out some familiar traditions - such as sing 'Auld Lang Syne' - so, to get you thinking, here are six familiar ways of welcoming in the New Year.

1) Watch Night

Many religious communities have a tradition of New Year's Eve being known as 'Watch Night'. The faithful of the community congregate to worship at services that commence on New Year's Eve night and which continue past midnight into the New Year. The Watch Night is a time for giving thanks for the blessings of the outgoing year and praying for divine favour during the upcoming year.

2) The Edinburgh Cannon

In Edinburgh the cannon is fired at Edinburgh Castle at the stroke of midnight.

3) Hogmanay

Scotland celebrates New Year as Hogmanay, which is the Scots word for the last day of the year. The roots of Hogmanay reach back to the celebration of the winter solstice among the Norse, as well as incorporating customs from the Gaelic New Year's celebration of Samhain.

4) Auld Lang Syne

The Hogmanay custom of singing 'Auld Lang Syne' has become common in many countries. 'Auld Lang Syne' is a traditional poem reinterpreted by Robert Burns, which was later set to music. It is now common for this to be sung in a circle of linked arms that are crossed over one another as the clock strikes midnight for New Year's Day. In Scotland the traditional practice is to cross arms only for the last verse.

5) First Footing

The practice of 'first-footing' starts immediately after midnight, and involves being the first person to cross the threshold of a friend or neighbour's house, and often involves the giving of symbolic gifts such as salt, coal, shortbread, whisky, and black bun (a type of rich fruit cake) intended to bring different kinds of luck to the householder.

6) New Year's Resolutions

It is also customary to make New Year's resolutions, which individuals hope to fulfil in the coming year. The most popular resolutions in the West include to stop smoking or drinking, lose weight or get physically fit. What will you give up (or take up) in 2010?

However you're planning to see in the New Year, I would like to wish you all a very happy and healthy...

Farewell 2009

Christmas crackers

Nothing says Christmas quite like the corny jokes in crackers. Here are five classics of the genre discovered by the Green family this Christmas.

Q: What is green, slimy and romantic at Christmas?
A: A mistle-toad!

Q: What game do cows like to play at Christmas?
A: Moo-sical chairs!

Q: What do you call a cat on a beach on Christmas Day?
A: Sandy Claws!

Q: What's a hedgehog's favourite food?
A: Prickled onions!

Q: What do you call two robbers?
A: A pair of nickers!

To find out more about the origins of the Christmas cracker - and the hopeless attempts at humour usually found within - follow this link to get hold of your own copy of Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Here's hoping that Father Christmas brought you everything you hoped for and that you and yours have a happy and memorable Christmas.

Wishing you a
MERRY CHRISTMAS
and a
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Best wishes

Jonathan Green

And, in case you missed the post earlier in the week, here's a present from me.

Health and Safety Advice for Carrollers

With Christmas on its way the carol singers will surely be out in force.

But if you thought this seasonal tradition was as simple as singing and tin-rattling, you couldn't be more wrong.

As it turns out, there are issues that have, for too long, been left unaddressed – which is why this year's festive singers now have a health and safety leaflet to guide them.

To read more about this story, click here.

NORAD Santa Tracker 2009

It's not long to the big day now and preparations are moving up a gear - at least they are in the Green household! But what my children (and I'm sure children all over the world) are looking forward to in particular is the arrival of a certain tubby gentleman with a bulging sack.


You can follow Santa's progress across the globe on Christmas Eve via NORAD's official Santa tracker here.


But while you're waiting for the night of 24 December, why not enjoy this short video of Santa's 2008 journey around the world?

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

This afternoon it started raining on top of the frozen snow that fell a few days ago. Then it started to sleet until at last it started to snow. This is the view in my street at the moment...


Apparently bookmakers William Hill have slashed the odds of it being a White Christmas, worried that they'll be facing a massive pay-out.

Did you know...?
It can actually get cold enough that it doesn't snow! Because snow is frozen water, if there are not enough water droplets in the air it can't snow - simple as that. As a result, the driest place on Earth isn't in the Sahara Desert or the Arizona Desert. It's actually a place known as the Dry Valleys and it's in Antarctica. The area is completely free of ice and snow, and it never rains there at all! In fact, parts of the Antarctic continent haven't seen any rain for around 2 million years! But Antarctica is also the wettest place in world, due to the fact that 70% of the Earth's water is found there in the form of ice.

For more fascinating facts like these, check out Match Wits with the Kids - available now - as well as Christmas Miscellany: Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Christmas.

And if you're feeling the cold, why not sit down in front of the fire tonight and enjoy a Snowball? Of the slightly alcoholic variety...

Snowball Cocktail
2 oz Advocaat
Top up Lemonade
1/2 oz Fresh Lime juice

Mix all ingredients in a cocktail shaker / stirrer and pour into an unusually shaped glass. Add Crushed Ice and decorations to create a great speciality drink from an easy to make recipe!

And while you're sipping your Snowball, why not listen to this ode to the cocktail, celebrating the fact that you can enjoy all your favourite drinks in the same glass?