What may seem like a joke to most is actually celebrated as New Year’s Dishonor List Day, at Lake Superior State University (L.S.S.U.), Michigan, on every January 1, New Year’s Day. What happens on this day is that a P.R. team in L.S.S.U. collect nominations of different words and phrases from all around the U.S., and then select the most overused ones, which are featured on the dishonored list and published on the school’s website for removal from the English Language. Words and phrases that, because of overuse, have become catchphrases are voted for removal by a panel from the University.
First-Foot Day
First-Foot Day, on January 1, is about celebrating the New Year as per the Scottish and North England tradition of bringing good luck upon your home by being the first person to set foot inside at the beginning of the year. Did you know that similar practices of first footing are also found in many traditions including Greek and Georgian traditions? This is not just it, many more interesting things surround this festival!
The belief is that the one who will first set foot in your house cannot be someone who was inside when midnight struck. It’s OK if an occupant of the house deliberately stays outside till midnight and then enters after midnight. Therefore, to observe this holiday, people stay just outside their homes until midnight of New Year’s Eve before going in.
Apple Gifting Day
Apple Gifting Day is celebrated every year on January 1, as part of the many traditional ways of marking New Year’s Day. Because apples symbolize good health, giving people apples on New Year’s Day is wishing them good health for the rest of the year. The best thing about apples is that there are varieties of them: candied apples, apples for tarts and sweet dishes, and apples for raw eating. So this Apple Gifting Day, give an apple to your loved ones.