Auld Lang Syne
Based on a poem by Scotland’s Robert Burns, Auld Lang Syne is traditionally sung here in the U. S. at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve. The words “Auld Lang Syne” refer to “Times Gone By,” though the literal translation is more like “Old Long Since.” Whether you think of it as “days gone by,” “old times,” or even “for the sake of old times,” there’s a pretty good chance you’ll be singing it tomorrow night. Or at least humming along as the ball drops in Times Square. (We oldsters seldom go out that late, so we usher in the new year via television these days.)
The song asks us if we should forget old acquaintances and days gone by? Of course not. And it encourages us to “drink a cup of kindness” for those acquaintances and those long gone days.
If you plan to sing along, here you go:
“Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
In days of auld lang syne!
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll drink a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne!”
Happy New Year!
so glad to have met you in 2012. And now we move on to 2013. Wow
….. Wishing a Most Happy New Year to you and yours!!
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And a happy and prosperous new year to you, too, SC (Kathy?) I have so enjoyed your blog and your comments on mine. Speaking of which, do you know you are the number one commenter on both of my blogs? (I love the handy-dandy year end statistic reports that came from WordPress last night!) Thanks so much for helping my blog get started right, and for all the great information you share on your blog. It’s been a pleasure getting to know you! Happy 2013!
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Yippee!! Proud to be your number one!
Happy 2013,
Your blogging friend,
Kathy
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Just thought of something I’ve been meaning to tell you. For the longest time, I “saw” your gravatar as a cameo brooch! Hahahahahaha. Finally, one day I saw a larger version of it, and boy was I surprised. I still think of you as a “jewel” though!
😀
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Very Happy New Year to you, Marcia! Here’s to a great new year with lots of great new reads! 🙂
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Thank you, Steve, and the same back atcha! I have a feeling I’m going to need LOTS of opportunities to escape from reality this year! Glad you stopped by, and thanks for taking a moment to comment. Have a great 2013!
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I pretty much always usher in the New Year indoors. (It’s cold out there at midnight!) A cup of cocoa, a lap blanket, and a book until it’s almost time has worked for me since I was old enough to stay awake that long. 🙂
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Sounds perfect to me. I would really LOVE to see the Times Square celebration firsthand, but NOT from down in that crowd. I’m a bit claustrophobic, and the thought of being jammed into a group like that, cheek by jowl, is creepy. But if I could watch from a window over looking the scene, that would be fun. A window of a WARM room. With a fire. And a steaming cup of Earl Grey. And maybe bonbons. Yeah. That’s the ticket. Oh, well. I’ll watch on TV. I do have some Earl Grey, so it ain’t all bad!
Happy new year, Caitlin! Enjoy your evening. Tomorrow, I will follow an old Southern tradition of having roast pork (in my case, a fresh, uncured ham often sold as a shoulder picnic), and hoppin’ john, for good luck. (Hoppin’ John is blackeyed peas cooked with pork and served over rice, with diced onions on top and a shot of tobasco sauce.) Ummmmm. The whole house will smell like roasting pork. Yum. And then, on the second comes the great purge, ridding the house of any leftover holiday candy, pie, gravies, and mashed potatoes. January. The most austere month of the year where new diets are concerned. Oh, well. It was good while it lasted!
Happy 2013!
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