Hello! So, if I’m going to continue writing poems about birthdays (peruse below), I can’t ignore the birthday of the world.
No matter what country or culture, we all celebrate New Year’s Day. Some celebrate on January first, some celebrate the Chinese Lunar New Year (in January or February), Iranians celebrate Norouz (or Nowruz)–the spring equinox–in March, while Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is celebrated in September or October, based on the Hebrew calendar. (My latest picture book is about tashlich, a joyous part of the Jewish New Year about apologizing, forgiving, and letting go of our mistakes of the past year.)
In Venezuela folks wear yellow underwear, in Mexico and Spain they eat twelve grapes at midnight. For more ways we celebrate the birthday of the world across the globe, click here and then click on “New Years Rituals Around the World.”
Here’s my tiny poem for this big topic:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EARTH!
by April Halprin Wayland
New Year’s Day, when you
wake up…do you make a wish,
then blow out the stars?
© 2010 April Halprin Wayland. All rights reserved
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