Happy New Year to our Rotary family! As part of an international organization let's explore New Year's celebrations across cultures, including:
- Japan: Families gather to spend the days together, and most businesses are closed from January 1 to January 3
- United States: Watching the ball drop
- Brazil: Going to the beach
- Spain: Eating 12 grapes
- Denmark: Smashing plates and glasses against doors to ward off bad spirits, and jumping off chairs at midnight for good luck
- Finland: Casting molten tin into water to predict the coming year
- Germany: Giving marzipan pigs to friends and family as a good luck wish
- Italy: Eating 12 spoonfuls of lentils, one with each chime of the clock at midnight
Wherever you are in this world, enjoy fellowship with your family or friends. Be safe, and make a New Year's resolution to become more engaged in your Rotary club.