Come Join Us!!

New Year's Eve is your last chance to party in 2004, so don't waste it!

Here are some of our recommendations:

Be loud. Many cultures, including certain Native American tribes, believe celebrating the New Year with loud noises helps to expel evil spirits that may have attached themselves to you or your home during the year. So blow those horns and pop those corks (and to keep your neighbors from complaining, make sure you invite them to the party).
Make sure all the doors are open at midnight. Popular wisdom says that doing so helps the old year find its way out and the new year come in.
Play Auld Lang Syne at midnight. Based on a traditional Scottish tune written over 300 years ago (hence the often misunderstood lyrics), this song became a New Year's Eve staple thanks to bandleader Guy Lombardo. He and his orchestra first played it on New Year's Eve 1929 in New York, and continued doing so for the next 50 years. It's the perfect end-of-year song, about remembering those you've left behind and hoping you'll see those you love in the coming year.
Kiss someone at midnight. According to an old German legend, the first person you encounter in the New Year will play a significant role in your life during the next twelve months. So whoever you're kissing as the clock strikes twelve will be around all year long.
Drink champagne. Long associated with European royalty - because only they could afford it - champagne has today become available to everybody. But it's still a great way to "live large" on the last day of the year.
Pay your bills. Many cultures believe that owing money on the first day of the year means you'll be paying off debts all year. So get those checks in the mail before Dec. 31st!
And finally, you need to eat herring at midnight. Not only is this thought to bring good luck for the new year, it'll keep you from being too hungry later on :)

2005 ...is finally here! So how about more great ideas?

Wear something new on January 1. Tradition holds that wearing new clothes will increase your chances of getting more new clothes as the year goes on.
Don't do laundry on New Year's Day. It is said that this could "wash away" someone you care about.
Be careful, physically and emotionally. It's widely believed that whatever you do on New Year's Day, you'll do over and over again during the year. So avoid activities that might strain a muscle or watching a sad movie that makes you cry, unless you want a year full of such things.