LET THE JOY AND HAPPINESS BEGIN!

I borrowed the image from my friend Dan at Facebook, and I promise to return it at the end of 2012.

And the Peanuts gang from Doug and me.

If you think I'm watching football today, think again. I will have a bowl of Grandpère's delicious vegetable soup, with cheese and crackers and a glass of wine, and then I will chill.

Last night we attended a very nice, low-key party, with good food and good company, and almost, but not quite, made it to the turn of the New Year, as we made our departure at around 11:25 PM in 2011.

UPDATE: I found an old piece of paper with this quote from the New York Review of Books copied in May of 1998 in my KJV, which I used for the Bible readings today.

A poem of Goethe's describes a quiet scholar returning from a party. "How was it?" he was asked.

"If the people there were books, I would not read them."

Not my party!

A BLESSED AND JOYOUS NEW YEAR!

Stonehaven Fireballs Ceremony 2003

Celebrating the New Year in the Scottish style:

HOGMANAY

WE are come to the door,
To see if we be the better of our visit,
To tell the generous women of the townland
That to-morrow is Calendae Day.

May God bless the dwelling,
Each stone, and beam, and stave,
All food, and drink, and clothing,
May health of men be always there.

Should the guisers be inhospitably treated, they file round the fire withershins and walk out, and raise a cairn in or near the door, called 'carnan mollachd,' cairn of malison, 'carnan cronachd,' scaith cairn.

They tramp loudly, shaking the dust of the place off their feet, and intoning with a deep voice the following and other malediction.

The malison of God and of Hogmanay be on you,
And the scath of the plaintive buzzard,
Of the hen-harrier, of the raven, of the eagle,
And the scath of the sneaking fox.

The scath of the dog and of the cat be on you,
Of the boar, of the badger, and of the 'brugha,'
Of the hipped bear and of the wild wolf,
And the scath of the foul foumart.

THE BLESSING OF THE NEW YEAR

GOD, bless to me the new day,
Never vouchsafed to me before;
It is to bless Thine own presence
Thou hast given me this time, O God.

Bless Thou to me mine eye,
May mine eye bless all it sees;
I will bless my neighbour,
May my neighbour bless me.

God, give me a clean heart,
Let me not from sight of Thine eye;
Bless to me my children and my wife,
And bless to me my means and my cattle.

Benedictions and maledictions from Carmina Gadelica here and here.



Robert Burns - "Auld Lang Syne"

A lovely version sung by Dougie MacLean from the album "Tribute".

Click on the snowflake for the snow effect.

New Year's Prayer

Dear Lord, please give me…
A few friends who understand me and remain my friends;
A work to do which has real value,
without which the world would be the poorer;
A mind unafraid to travel, even though the trail be not blazed;
An understanding heart;
A sense of humor;
Time for quiet, silent meditation;
A feeling of the presence of God;
The patience to wait for the coming of these things,
With the wisdom to recognize them when they come. Amen.

New Year prayer from Appleseed.