New
Year's
Day Activities & Crafts
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History
of New
Year's
The
celebration of the New Year was first observed in ancient Babylon
about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian
New Year began with the first New Moon after the first day of
spring.
The
beginning of spring was a logical time to start the New Year since
it is the season of rebirth and for planting new crops. January
1, on the other hand, has no astronomical or agricultural significance.
The Babylonian New Year celebration lasted for eleven days and
everyday had its own particular way of celebration, but it is
safe to say that modern New Year's Eve festivities pale in comparison.
The
Romans continued to observe the New Year in late March, but their
calendar soon became out of synchronization with the sun. In order
to set the calendar right, the Roman's, made January 1 the beginning
of the New Year. This happened in 153 BC and the Romans kept playing
with it until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has come
to be known as the Julian calendar. It again established January
1 as the New Year but in order to synchronize the calendar with
the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days.
However, in AD 567 the Council of Tours abolished January first
in favor of March as the start of a new year, varying the actual
day to coincide with the Vernal Equinox. New Year celebrations
lasted for several days. The first day of the New Year was moved
back to January 1 with the advent of the Gregorian Calendar by
Pope Gregory XIII in 1582.
As
Christianity spread the world, the church began blending its own
observances with many of the pagan celebrations, and New Year's
Day was no different. New Years by some Catholic’s is observed
as the Feast of Christ's Circumcision and as the Feast of Mary
by others. For most modern day Christians, New Years is simply
just the celebration of another year but the date is recognized
as being split (AD / BC) because of Jesus Christ.
A
popular tradition of the season is the making of New Year's resolutions.
This tradition dates back to the early Babylonians. The tradition
of using a baby to signify the new year was begun in Greece around
600 BC. It was their tradition at that time to celebrate their
god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket, representing
the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. Early
Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth. The use of
an image of a baby with a New Years banner as a symbolic representation
of the new year was brought to early America by the Germans. They
had used the effigy since the fourteenth century.
Most
New Years celebrations in North America are often focused on adult
celebrations and the little one's are usually left at the babysitters
so the parents can party. Why not start a different tradition
this coming New Years and stay at home with your loved ones and
create some cherished memories. Here are some great Activities
for celebrating a family New Years Eve that allows your children
to feel an important apart of the special occasion.
A
word of caution however, trying to let your younger ones stay
up till midnight can often create an environment for temper tantrums.
We suggest for younger children you should select an earlier designated
time to officially celebrate the new years and still be able to
get them off to bed at a half decent time.
Decorate
for New Years
Age: 4 and Up
Mess: High
Material: Decorations (Balloons, Banners etc.)
Instructions: Have the kids decorate a room in
the house. Make sure you are part of helping them and let them
do it. Often parents will just tell them to decorate the room
by them selves and have no interaction with their kids. Make it
a family event. Play some music and have fun doing it. Remember
this is for your families New Year’s so don’t get
hung up on if the decorations look bad or not. Have fun and tell
the kids how great a job they did.
Party
Time
Age: 3 and Up
Mess: High
Material: Fruit Cider, Snacks, Movies, Party
Hats, Streamers and a favorite Meal
Instructions: Make a point of having this a special
occasion by dressing everyone up in nice clothes. Make a family
favorite meal that the kids will love and make a special desert.
Pick out three or four family favorite movies that the kids will
like and pull out a couple children board games. After dinner
play a board game then have some desert. After desert get in some
comfy clothes put some blankets on the living room floor and watch
a movie or two and snack away. If your little ones are too small
to be able to stay up until midnight then select a specific time
that you will ring in the new year. Make sure you do a big count
down and give everyone a glass of apple cider. Scream; blow in
streamers and whatever else you want to celebrate the new year.
Most important of all is have fun!
New Years Scrap Book
Age: 4 and Up
Mess: High
Material: Paper (different colors is best), Glue,
Stickers, photographs, special event tickets, a Hole Puncher,
Yarn, Crayons and what ever else was special from the past year.
Instructions: Cut your cover and back to the
size you want them. You can make them any shape such as a square,
rectangle, circle...whatever! Cut your inside pages 1/2 inch smaller
than the cover all around so that way it's just like a real scrapbook.
Make sure the inside pages are all straight and together, and
then stack them inside of the cover and backing. Then use your
hole-punch and punch holes in the sheets. IF you do not have a
hole-punch a sharp pencil works well. Your book might be too thick
to punch all at once, so you might have to do it in sections.
If you do, just be careful to line up the holes. Once you've got
all the holes punched, thread the yarn through the holes and tie
them in a bow. Okay, now that you've got a blank scrapbook, it's
time to fill it. You'll need some more supplies to do this. This
is a project that you can work on bit by bit, you don't have to
sit down and do it all in one day! Remember: this is your book,
so you can do whatever you want with it. Create a cool cover using
really cool paper, stamps and photos. Dedicate sections of the
scrapbook to different things (have a friend section, a family
section, a secret crush section!).
New
Years Time Capsule
Age: 4 and Up
Mess: Medium
Material: Duct Tape, plastic Ziploc bags and
an Empty (Clean) Coffee Can
Instructions: Get a clean coffee can and some
waterproof duct tape and fill it with special mementos from the
past year that means a lot to your child right now, and stuff
they might think is funny or cool when you open this thing up
again! Some ideas are: Photographs, ticket stubs from their favorite
movie, a CD of their favorite song, a list of their best friends,
pictures of their room, pictures of their favorite toys, a videotape
of them or anything else you can think of. Put each item in an
individual Ziploc bag for added protection. Seal the can up with
lots of duct tape and then, (if you do not live where the ground
is frozen) bury the time capsule in the back yard, and make a
map with instructions about how to find it! If you (like myself)
live in an area that is frozen come New Years, then keep the sealed
time capsule in a safe place until spring and then bury it then.
Keep a copy of the map for safe-keeping. Agree on how long to
leave it, I recommend minimum of 5 years. I bet when you open
it, they'll be pretty surprised about everything they (and you)
forgot about!
Color
The New Year
Age: 3 and Up
Mess: Medium
Material: Paper, Glue, Crayons or Markers, String,
Glitter and whatever else you have around.
Instructions: On the piece of paper write the
number of the new year coming up. So for example put 2005 in big
numbers on the sheet of paper. Have your child decorate the year
with all that you supply them. Use their work of art as a New
Years decoration.
New
Years Party Hats
Age: 3 and Up
Mess: Medium
Material: Colored Construction Paper, Tape, Hole
Punch, Crayons, Markers, Glue, Glitter and Yarn
Instructions: Have child decorate the paper with
markers, paint, crayons, string, glitter, the number of the year
coming up, or however they wish. After the paper has dried, form
a cone shape to fit the child's head and then tape the shape securely.
The cone shape is formed by rolling up the paper so the longer
sides of the paper form the top and bottom of the cone. After
you have secured the shape with tape, cut the bottom of the cone
so it is even all the way around. Punch two holes in the hat near
the bottom to attach a string that will secure the hat on the
child's head. Tie on the string.
Bells
on Shoes
Age: 3 and Up
Mess: Low
Material: Craft Bells
Instructions: This is a very simple activity
but the younger children really enjoy this. Thread a few craft
bells onto the shoelaces of your children and then have them walk,
dance, or stomp around.
