Happy New Year!!!

Musique: Auld Lang Syne

*With just hours away for my New Year to begin, I wanted to leave you with this*

To all of you my dear readers, friends, givers of joy... Happy New Year!! This year has been amazing, I've had such joy, travels, new beginnings, this blog and best of all the arrival of my second daughter Noémie, who we love dearly. What will the New Year bring!?! Let's see - I wish you a long and wonderful 2012, full of love and happiness to wrap you in warmth in each new day. May you be filled with new experiences, new beginnings, happiness, love, adventures and all the sweet treasures the world has to offer! Love others and never be afraid to give that love to yourself too, your most deserving of it. Thank you each and everyone of you for the comments, the messages, the laughs, fantastic posts and for always following along with me whether it be here, Twitter, Facebook or otherwise, I appreciate it from the center of my heart, I have been humbled by all of you throughout the year and I look forward to sharing many more adventures and wonders with you in 2012 - let's make it sparkle and shine!!


All love & glitter
xoxoxo

 "Your success and happiness lies in you. Resolve to keep happy, and your joy and you shall form an invincible host against difficulties." Helen Keller.

♥

A dear reader asked what one might do in Scotland around this time, so I put this together..enjoy!!

As we ring in the bells, we sing the unforgettable "Auld Lang Syne" a little history for you:

"Auld Lang Syne" (Scots pronunciation: [ˈɔːld lɑŋˈsəin]: note "s" rather than "z") is a Scots poem written by Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a traditional folk song. It is well known in many countries, especially (but far from exclusively) in the English-speaking world; its traditional use being to celebrate the start of the New Year at the stroke of midnight. By extension, it is also sung at funerals, graduations and as a farewell or ending to other occasions. The international Boy Scout youth movement, in many countries, uses it as a close to jamborees and other functions.
The song's Scots title may be translated into English literally as "old long since", or more idiomatically, "long long ago", "days gone by" or "old times". Consequently "For auld lang syne", as it appears in the first line of the chorus, is loosely translated as "for (the sake of) old times".
The phrase "Auld Lang Syne" is also used in similar poems by Robert Ayton (1570–1638), Allan Ramsay (1686–1757), and James Watson (1711) as well as older folk songs predating Burns. Matthew Fitt uses the phrase "In the days of auld lang syne" as the equivalent of "Once upon a time..." in his retelling of fairy tales in the Scots language.

Hogmanay is the Scot's word for the last day of the year and is synonymous with the celebration of the New Year. It is however, normally only the start of the celebration begins on New Year's and lasts through the night until the morning of New Year's Day (1 January) or, in some cases, January 2nd which is a Scottish Bank Holiday.

To read what I and many do on New Year's, click below:

Scottish Hogmanay Customs Traditions


 "Blianadh Bha Ur"

Happy New Year in Scottish Gaelic, which is pronounced like 'blee Anna va ur'!!

{New Year's celebrations at Edinburgh Castle 2011}