Photo of the Day (12-31-08)

by Jamie Rhein on

I chose this picture as today’s Photo of the Day for a few reasons. One is because Jeremy Baumgartner took it at Fisherman’s Wharf at Monterey Harbor in California on New Year’s Eve, January 1, 2008. Featuring it today seems symmetrical. In a year that has had so many ups and downs, symmetry feels fitting and the photo exudes a stillness and calm.

With the hoopla around New Year’s Eve and the upset 2008 has brought, there’s a need for calm and the time to consider the stars. If you look above the warm, friendly glow of the sailboats, you’ll see Orion’s Belt. It’s one of the largest constellations and the one that everyone around the world can see. Part of the belt is the three close together vertical stars.

To have your photos considered for Photo of the Day, post them at Gadling’s Flickr Photo Pool.

Strange New Year’s traditions around the world

by Jeremy Kressmann on

Unlike many holidays, where celebrants are bound by tradition or religion, New Year’s is a holiday that allows each individual to choose his own method of celebration. Some revelers will soak themselves in alcohol, boozing it up with copious bottles of champagne. Others choose to make the evening a quieter affair, settling in for a movie and an early night in bed.

However you personally choose to celebrate New Year’s 2009, people around the world certainly have some wacky ways that they choose to bring in their new year. MSNBC is reporting on some of the more interesting customs. Here’s a look at a few of the more curious:

  • South America – in countries like Brazil and Bolivia, it’s what’s inside that counts. Residents in cities such as Sao Paulo and La Paz ring in the New Year by donning brightly colored underpants. Those who choose red are hoping for an amorous year ahead, those with yellow wish for money. I guess this begs the question of how you tell who is wearing what color underwear. Perhaps that is best left unanswered…
  • Denmark – as if the effects of plentiful New Year’s alcohol were not disorienting enough, many Danish revelers leap off chairs at the stroke of midnight, hoping to banish bad spirits in the year ahead.
  • Philippines – New Year’s celebrations in places like Manila tend to be circular; Filipinos focus on all things round, consuming “round” fruits such as grapes and wearing clothing with round shapes like polka dots. The spherical theme is meant to remind celebrants of the “round” shape of coins and prosperity.
  • Spain – at the stroke of 12, Spaniards begin to consume 12 grapes, attempting to eat the whole bunch by the time the clock stops chiming.
  • Belarus – the new year in Belarus is all about getting hitched. Unmarried women compete at games of skill and chance to determine who will tie the knot in the coming months. One game involves setting piles of corn and a rooster before the potential brides-to-be – whichever pile the bird chooses apparently picks the lucky lady.

You can check out the full list of weird New Year’s traditions here.

Need New Year’s Eve ideas? Crash some plates!

by Tom Johansmeyer on

I assure you that when the ball drops on the last day of 2008, I will not be in Times Square. I will be nowhere near Times Square. So, unless you like the thought of being shoulder-to-shoulder with people you’ve never met while freezing and lamenting the lack of public bathrooms in that part of town, take a look at some of the choices you have this year.

Chomp twelve grapes in Spain
Think of it as a drinking game without the fermentation. Every time the bells toll-12 times in total-eat a grape. This should ensure a sweet year. But, if you cram into Madrid‘s Puerta del Sol (see my thoughts on Times Square), listen carefully for your cue to chew.

Slam china in Denmark
Wait for the queen to finish her annual 6 PM New Year’s Eve address to the Danes. Then, join the locals in a big meal. On a full stomach, throw plates at people’s houses (typically, this is done to friends). The thrown plates are expressions of friendship. I have to assume that a direct hit on a window or expensive glass door is not. Again, just guessing.

Wait for Pinocchio in Ecuador
Ecuadorians burn effigies to prevent their real-life counterparts from stopping by, and people run around the block 12 times while wearing yellow, which they say is lucky. I do hope that they aren’t wearing only yellow … that would look funny.

Mexico: Another place to run around the block
Wear yellow if you choose (and only if you choose) while carrying your luggage around the block in Mexico. But, only do this if you want the year to bring you many travels. Investment bankers, management consultants and attorneys: don’t bother trying to resist it. You’ll be on the road anyway.

[Thanks, IgoUgo]

A New Orleans New Year’s Eve

by Kelly Amabile on

Since I mentioned yesterday that I spent last New Year’s Eve down in NOLA, I thought I’d share details about some of the things we did that day. It might give you ideas for a future trip to New Orleans, at the holidays, or any time of year. You can do most of these things all year long:

We began our day watching football at Parasol’s, a landmark Irish pub, where we feasted on roast beef po-boys and too many Zapps potato chips. (Warning: These Louisiana chips are highly addictive, especially the spicy creole tomato!) To work off our lunch, we walked along the river and eventually hopped on the free ferry to Algiers Point, where we spent a few hours strolling through this quiet residential neighborhood. It’s a peaceful place, tucked perfectly into a bend of the Mississippi. (Be sure to stop and salute the statue of Louis Armstrong at the ferry landing.)

Hungry again, we wound up back at an old favorite for dinner, a wonderful place called La Peniche, that I’ve written about before. Since it was a mild evening, we then walked (again!) from Farbourg Marigny back towards the French Quarter, where we spent the final hours of 2007 taking in the party atmosphere — without having to cram into crowded bars. We simply walked the streets, sipping Abita beer (Restoration Ales all around) and listening to live music from street performers, and then later, from the free New Year’s Eve concert near Jackson Square that the city puts on each year. It was conveniently close to another mandatory stop, Cafe du Monde, where we polished off some beignets — No better way to ring in the new year than with a mouth full of powdered sugar and fried dough!

Let’s Party Like It’s 1999

by Brett Atkinson on

Well, the year 2000 actually if you’re a Coptic Christian living in Ethiopia. According to the calendar of the ancient Coptic Church, September 12 2007 is actually New Year’s Eve 1999. Based on the ancient Egyptian calendar the Coptic Calendar was replaced by the Gregorian calendar (the one we now use) in 1582. The Coptic Church ignored Pope Gregory XIII’s unilateral decree and maintained their own timetable. More than four centuries later the gap between the two systems is now seven years.

Despite it being the end of the millennium, the residents of the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa have been surprised at the lower than expected number of visitors. Only 25,000 tourists are reckoned to have made the trip to one of Africa’s oldest cultures. A proposed food fair and a run by the great Ethiopian athlete Haile Gebrelassie had to be cancelled because of the threat of terrorism. In the absence of tasty street food and jogging, the biggest gig in town has been a concert featuring the Black Eyed Peas.

Now if only they’d managed to get Prince…

Thanks to Rudy Neeser on Flickr for the pic of downtown Addis.

Via The Independent