New Year’s Eve Etymology Hogmanay and Auld Lang Syne

New Year’s Eve Etymology Hogmanay and Auld Lang Syne New Year’s Eve Etymology: Hogmanay and Auld Lang Syne Happy New Year everyone! Well, not quite yet if you’re reading this on New Year’s Eve. But at midnight tonight, we say â€Å"goodbye† to one year and â€Å"hello† to yet another one. But how does a proofreader celebrate the last day of the year? With etymology, of course! The origin of â€Å"New Year’s Eve† itself is fairly obvious. But there are a couple of unusual terms associated with this time of year: Hogmanay and Auld Lang Syne. We have the Scots to thank for both of these. But what do they mean exactly? And where do they come from? Hogmanay (A Gift Given at the New Year) Scotland’s obsession with New Year’s Eve goes back to the seventeenth century and the Protestant reformation, when Christmas was banned in Scotland. The New Year therefore became the main winter festival for Scots, giving rise to what is know today as â€Å"Hogmanay.† As with many old traditions, Hogmanay involves a lot of fire.(Photo: John Lord/wikimedia) The etymology of â€Å"Hogmanay† is complicated, but one theory is that it comes from the Middle French aguillaneuf, via the dialect word hoguinanà ©, one meaning of which is â€Å"a gift given on New Year’s Eve.† This may be reflected in the Hogmanay custom of â€Å"first footing,† where the first person to enter a house after midnight on New Year will come bearing gifts. Hogmanay is still mainly a Scottish tradition. But even if you’ve never heard of first footing before, there is a certain song associated with Hogmanay that has caught on around the world†¦ Auld Lang Syne (Times Long Past) â€Å"Auld Lang Syne† is now sung around the world as New Year’s Eve passes into New Year’s Day. But it was originally a poem by Robert Burns from 1788, based on an even older folk song. It then became a Scots tradition to sing it at the New Year, later spreading across England and beyond. Auld Lang Syne. The phrase â€Å"auld lang syne† itself literally translates to â€Å"old long ago† or â€Å"old long since.† But this is better understood as meaning â€Å"days gone by† or â€Å"times long past.† This reflects the theme of the song, which is about looking back at old friendships (the â€Å"old acquaintance† mentioned in the lyrics) and coming together once more to celebrate over a â€Å"cup o’ kindness.† And whether or not you’re from Scotland, that sounds like a great way to end any year.

35 Wedding Anniversary Wishes to Bless Married Couples

35 Wedding Anniversary Wishes to Bless Married Couples The decision to get married may be the most significant step you take in your life. It may take a while for you to get adjusted to married life. Marriage is a lifetime commitment. Once you decide to take the plunge, there is no looking back. Weddings are sacrosanct. You promise to cherish your spouse as long as you live. You take a vow to support each other in good and bad times. And you promise to love and be faithful forever. Wedding anniversaries are important milestones, as you count the years that rolled by in marital bliss. But marriage is not a bed of roses. Every couple faces challenges that threaten to tear them apart. When the foundation of marriage is weak, the relationship can crumble to dust. However, some couples rise above these challenges and emerge stronger than ever. Wedding anniversaries celebrate the triumphant years and remind the couple of their blessings. If your friend or relative is celebrating his wedding anniversary, congratulate the husband and wife for their togetherness. Bless them with heartfelt wedding anniversary wishes. Recall the beautiful memories of their wedding day to remind them of their deep love that keeps them going strong year after year. Elizabeth Barrett BrowningTwo human loves make one divine.Dean StanleyA happy marriage is a new beginning of life, a new starting point for happiness and usefulness.Elijah FentonWedded love is founded on esteem.Johann Wolfgang von GoetheThe sum which two married people owe to one another defies calculation. It is an infinite debt, which can only be discharged through all eternity.Eliza CookHark! The merry chimes are pealing,Soft and glad the music swells,Gaily in the night wind stealing,Sweetly sound the wedding bells.George ChapmanMarriage is ever made by destiny.Kahlil GibranYou were born together, and together you shall be forevermore... but let there be spaces in your togetherness. And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.Joseph CampbellWhen you make a sacrifice in marriage, youre sacrificing not to each other but to unity in a relationship.PlautusLet us celebrate the occasion with wine and sweet words.Thomas MooreThere is nothing half so sweet in lifeAs loves young dre am. Sir A. HuntHe is blessed in love alone,Who loves for years and loves but one.William ShakespeareGrace and remembrance be to you both.Honore de BalzacOne should believe in marriage as in the immortality of the soul.Franz Joseph von Munch-BellinghausenTwo souls with but a single thought,Two heart that beat as one.William ShakespeareHonor, riches, marriage-blessingLong continuance, and increasing,Hourly joys be still upon you!Ogden NashTo keep your marriage brimming,With love in the wedding cup,Whenever youre wrong, admit it;Whenever youre right, shut up.Emily BronteWhatever souls are made of, his and mine are the same.HoraceHappy and thrice happy are those who enjoy an uninterrupted union, and whose love, unbroken by any sour complaints, shall not dissolve until the last day of their existence.William ShakespeareHeaven give you many, many merry days.Rainer Maria RilkeA good marriage is that in which each appoints the other guardian of his solitude.Sam KeenWe come to love not by finding the perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly. MiltonHail, wedded love, mysterious law; true source of human happiness.William ShakespeareNow join hands, and with your hands your hearts.John DonneCome live with me and be my love,And we will some new pleasures proveOf golden sands and crystal brooks,With silken lines and silver hooks.Karl FuchsIt takes two special people,To make a loving pair.Thereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a joy just being around you,A feeling I love to share.Barbra StreisandWhy does a woman work ten years to change a mans habits and then complain that hes not the man she married?Jean RostandA married couple are well suited when both partners usually feel the need for a quarrel at the same time.Wellins CalcottIn the choice of a wife, we ought to make use of our ears, and not our eyes.Phyllis DillerWhatever you may look like, marry a man your own age as your beauty fades, so will his eyesight.William Makepeace ThackerayBad husbands will make bad wives.Kyran PittmanIf you can hang in there through minor and major differe nces of opinion, through each others big and little screw-ups, year after year, you come to understand that the person you married is really, terribly flawed. There isnt a human being you can hang out with, day in and day out, for over a decade and not come to the same inescapable realization. Wellins CalcottA single life is doubtless preferable to a married one, where prudence and affection do not accompany the choice; but where they do, there is no terrestrial happiness equal to the married state.Phyllis DillerA bachelor is a guy who never made the same mistake once.Chloe DanielsA marriage is like a salad: the man has to know how to keep his tomatoes on the top.J. R. EwingMarriage is like these bonbons. You never know what youre getting until youre right in the middle of it.