Make some noise for 2009!

Make Some Noise!

New Year’s Eve—December 31
Among the various superstitions surrounding the advent of the New Year is the nearly mandatory practice of noisemaking at midnight.

Now looked upon as mere revelry, it was once meant to drive out the old year and banish evil spirits, who would be scared off by the noise.

Many end-of-year practices actually date from ancient times. As early as 2600 B.C., Babylonians celebrated the new year with 11-day-long feasts and originated the noisemaking habit.

• In ancient Thailand, guns were fired to frighten off demons.
• In China, firecrackers routed the forces of darkness.
• In the early American colonies, the sounds of pistol shots rang through the air.

Today, Italians let their church bells peal, the Swiss beat drums and pots and pans, and North Americans sound sirens, car horns, boat whistles, and party horns—as well as set off fireworks—to bid the old year farewell.

This year, ring out the old and ring in the new with a traditional custom or two!

Info taken from Old Farmers Almanac.

I plan to ring it in watching the Ball drop, drinking some Blue Moon Beer or perhaps one of these…
Cointreau Tease Recipe

4 cl (1 1/2oz) Cointreau
2 cl (3/4oz) Apple juice
1,5 cl (1/2oz) Monin violet syrup
1,5 cl (1/2oz) Fresh lemon juice
Frost ginger around the rim of the glass