| We continue the Babylonian tradition
NEW Year's Eve. It's resolution time. All the bad habits, the naughty indulgences of 2019 go into the trash can. The year 2020 will bring self-discipline, exercise, healthy living and avoidance of chocolate and booze. We are at one with the ancient Babylonians. Do I have New Year resolutions? That's top secret, I'm afraid. You don't want to forewarn the damsels, heh, heh! Yes, the Babylonians of about 4 000 years ago were the first to make New Year resolutions and to celebrate the New Year. During a 12-day religious festival known as Akitu, they crowned a new king or reaffirmed their loyalty to the reigning one. They also made promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed. These promises are considered to be the forerunners of our New Year resolutions. That was the ancient Babylonians. It's the Scots who have given New Year celebrations an extra zing. Hogmanay – as it's known in Bonny Scotland – begins with first footing, visiting friends and neighbours as the strokes of midnight still reverberate, carrying gifts of shortbread and black bun, which are exchanged for a wee dram of whisky. All very jolly. And there's high symbolism too. It's considered most auspicious – good luck for the year ahead - if the first visitor across the doorstep is a tall, dark man. It's bad luck if he has red hair. And the worst luck of all is if it's a red-haired woman. Why the Scots should have a prejudice against red-haired women is not clear. Apparently it's got something to do with the Vikings who overran the place all those centuries ago and introduced the genes for red hair. But I personally have nothing against red-haired women, in fact I have known some corkers. They are welcome across the threshhold any time. But this is to digress. Hogmanay is celebrated in Scotland over several days and nights with weird and wild ancient traditions, many involving a whirling of fireballs – a practice said to be of Viking origin, to drive away evil spirits. Also fireworks, it goes on and on. And many a wee dram. But It's been a tough and often an ugly year worldwide. Impeachment in America; Brexit in Old Blighty and possible dismemberment of the UK; atrocities all over the Middle East – and in America as well. Ugly sentiments break surface. Not pretty. And wildfires in Australia that must surely persuade even the dimmest climate change denialist that the scientists have been right all along. But hey! The Boks won the Rugby World Cup in Japan. We beat the Poms at cricket in the First Test. We're on the up and up. There are some bright spots in spite of Eskom. The mystics and the astrologers says 2020 will be a lot better. Something to do with alignment of the planets. To return to the Hogmany idiom, let us consider the lines of the immortal Robbie Burns:
And there's a hand, my trusty fiere!
. Tailpiece
IT'S New Year's Eve, you've got only a few hours to do all the things you will resolve not to do in the new year.
Last word
DEER readers, my gnu year's resolution is to tell you a gazelleon times how much I caribou you! Sorry. Bad puns. Alpaca bag and leave. – Greg Tamblyn
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