New Year Traditions

The gifts have all been unwrapped; the food has been served; and you have another ugly sweater to add to your collection. Christmas is officially over. You can finally stress a little less, but the festivities aren't done just yet. At least not if you recognize January 1st as the start of a new year. The funny thing is, while you're celebrating the new year, there's someone in another part of the world looking at you thinking, "You're a little early buddy." Many holidays are purely human constructs that have no logical or astrological purpose -- linked to neither a particular season nor a deity or civic imperative. In fact, the Babylonians, who invented New Year's around 4000 years ago, held the holiday in the spring.

Makes more sense to me, too. Petition to make New Year's in the spring again? It wasn't until Roman Emperor Julius Caesar fiddled with the calendar in 46 B.C. that January 1st was set as the official date for New Year's Day. Since then, many cultures have adopted their own traditions on how best to ring in the New year. Here are a few cultural New Years traditions you may have not have known about!

New Year's traditions

• Cubans eat 1 grape for every clock gong at midnight (twelve in total).
• The Dutch eat doughnuts that symbolize "coming full circle" in the year.
• Many cultures eat greens, collards, or cabbage as it is the color of money - at least in America
• Some Hispanics open the front door at midnight and throw out a pail of water. This is to symbolize washing away all the bad things over the past year and beginning anew.
• Jamaicans will open two doors.
• Scots ring in the new year by firing guns into the air.
•  Americans just drink lots of champagne.

For those families whose New Year's traditions include food, can I get an invitation?