PRAYERS – Jon Cook; Millie Mutka; Jim Moravec; Myria Strong; Kathy Mayo; Barb Zima’s friends Mick, Steven and Marilyn Hummel; Gregory Bowens; Laurie Nelson; Amber Ross’s daughter Linda; Jerrie Van Haverbeke’s niece Jolane Gervasi; Sandy Bishop’s friend Kelly Newman; Randy & Diane Niemczyk’s daughter Julia VanAvery, niece Sarah Joda, Denise Runde and Denise Hazel; Dick Volland; Valeria Hesselberg; Chris Markussen; Anne Verona’s sister/brother-in-law Pat & Woody Woodworth and friends Dennis Peterson, Natalie Madine, Eli Peters and Randy Ballard; Strong’s friend Erin Molle; Debbie Cyrtmus’ mother, Rose Wicker and sister, Corrie Trittin; the Ebert’s friend Patricia Kulzick; Karen Stanton’s friend Mary Lou Zelinski; Patricia Rasmussen’s sister Christine; Joyce Leander’s cousin Laurie Nelson and friend Casey Hohs; Sandy Bishop’s brother Larry; Ashley Clark’s friends Keith & Becky Hernandez and Kristie Dehart; the Waggoner’s sister-in-law Cheryl Busse, and friends Karla Zyhowski, Melissa Branta ; Karen Engels niece Lisa and friend Bob; Ann Carlson’s people David, Walt, Darren, Curt and Troy; peace for all nations and comfort for those in distress.
PRAYER LIST PROCEDURE – Submit your prayer requests to the office in writing, by phone, by email or in person. If requesting prayers for someone other than yourself or an immediate family member, please obtain permission – unless the circumstances are public in nature.
GUESTS – if you are visiting us today, please sign our book at the entrance to the sanctuary.
TODAY AFTER WORSHIP – if you could stay around for a bit and help us take down decorations and put them away – that would be wonderful.
MITTENS & GLOVES TREE – we are keeping it around for a little bit longer. We are giving everyone a chance to hit the after Christmas sales to really load this tree up!
GENEROUS DONATIONS – The Weekend Backpack Program received a food donation from St. Peters. Also a large food donation AND checks over $1300 were received from The Scarlett O’Hatters luncheon club. Instead of doing a gift exchange, they opted to donate to the Backpack Program. How cool is t’hat’?
LIBRARY UPDATE – we are still putting our library/hang out room together. Pastor Grant has lent – not given – some of his personal books to the library. Please use this as a lending library – not as a ‘take and keep’ library.
ENVELOPE PICK UP – if you requested offering envelopes – they are in the Narthex.
LWR QUILTERS ARE ON A HIATUS! Knot even kidding. Next quilters meeting will be Feb 18, 2026. Same time, same place, same bat(ting) channel.
GAME DAY – pending for the moment. More to follow.
NOTES FROM ANN – I don’t remember the last time I stayed up to midnight on New Year’s Eve. Heck – I don’t remember the last time I stayed up until midnight! I might give it a go this year. Burt and I are taking advantage of a lovely event here in Eagle River. Trees for Tomorrow hosts a luminary walk through the woods from 5 to 8p on New Year’s Eve. I think this will be the fourth time I have participated. Last year they had to cancel due to the trails being in bad condition. At the end of the (short) walk – there is a bonfire and hot chocolate. There is a cost associated with the walk, but well worth it.
Tomorrow is my big football watching day. I plant myself in front of the television and watch the Rose Bowl Parade and then all the bowl games I can find. It is a pleasant way (for me) to kick off the New Year. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to manage this particular level of laziness this year as I’ve still been in ‘project mode’.
My Mom had a variety of traditions for the New Year. Seafood was a must. She switched from shrimp to crab legs at some point. Black eyed peas joined the menu after living in Texas. There’s the Spanish tradition of eating one grape for every chime at midnight (you end up eating 12 grapes within a short period of time).
I swiped the following article from the Arizona Register newspaper – with an extra bit at the end
Fireworks on New Year’s Eve
Some date the origin of fireworks back to China’s Han dynasty from 202 BC to 220 AD, when people would throw bamboo stems into a fire to cause an explosion. Others believe they began during China’s Song dynasty from 960-1279 AD, where people made firecrackers using tubes made from rolled sheets of paper containing gunpowder and a fuse.
Champagne toast
Twelve grapes
The Spanish tradition, uvas de la suerte, dates back to around 1895, but was popularized in 1909 after Alicantese vine growers spread it to encourage grape sales following overproduction during an excellent harvest year.
The tradition holds that eating twelve grapes brings a year of good luck and prosperity. Some also believe that this practice helped ward off witches and other forms of evil. Some variations believe that the grapes must be eaten under a table.
Each grape must be eaten within the first minute at the stroke of midnight.
Midnight kiss
The New Year’s kiss can be traced back to the winter solstice festival Saturnalia. In ancient Rome, Saturnalia was a mid-December pagan festival to honor Saturn, the agricultural god.
According to Vogue, the kissing tradition evolved from masquerade balls in medieval Europe, where unmasking was accompanied by a kiss to “cleanse and thereby secure a year of good fortune.” The kiss also protected from loneliness or tragedy, and guaranteed a new beginning in love and intimacy.
The ball drop
Everyone knows about the iconic New Year’s Eve ball drop in New York City. This tradition started because city officials were worried about the hot ash that rained down onto the streets of New York after the original pyrotechnics show. Due to this, fireworks were banned in 1907.
To continue putting on a fabulous show, The New York Times brought a new gimmick to Times Square: the New Year’s Eve Ball.
Jump over seven waves
At the Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, at midnight, crowds will gather wearing white to walk into the ocean and jump over seven waves for good luck. Each wave counts as a day of the week and as you jump, you make a wish or create an intention.
The ritual comes from the Afro-Brazilian religious traditions of Candomblé and Umbanda, where the water is linked to cleansing and renewal. It’s also a tribute to Iemanjá, the goddess of the sea and protector of fishermen.
Breaking or throwing bread
In Ireland, there’s a tradition of throwing or breaking bread at the door on New Year’s Eve. Typically, the man of the house takes a baked cake and bangs it against the back of a door three times at midnight.
Smashing a pomegranate
A Greek tradition that involves the family gathering around outside and as the clock strikes midnight, a pomegranate is rolled and thrown onto the front door of the house.
The more seeds that scatter onto the floor, the luckier the New Year will be.
Red underwear on New Year’s Eve
In Italy, Spain and Latin America, wearing red underwear on New Year’s Eve is said to attract luck, love and passion in the coming year. It also symbolizes good fortune and fresh starts.
Don’t do laundry on New Year’s
While some believe that deep cleaning your house allows for a fresh start heading into the New Year, in China, doing your laundry or sweeping on New Year’s day could take away all your good luck for the year.
Hogmanay
The Scottish have several ways of celebrating what they refer to as Hogmanay or “the last day of the old year”.
One recent tradition is called the “Loony Dook”.
1st January 1987 -the first Loony Dook in South Queensferry took place when some friends decided to throw themselves into the Firth of Forth as a hangover cure. This event grew into an annual informal tradition
In the 1990s, the event became popularised when it was included in the Edinburgh’s Hogmanay programme of events, although it was still relatively informal
From 2011 – 1st January 2020, the event was formally managed as part of the Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations, and a fee was charged to take part. A parade with live music was added as part of the event, and numbers were limited.
The event was cancelled from the 2021 – 2023 Edinburgh’s Hogmanay programme of events, and as of 2023 was no longer an official part of the Edinburgh’s Hogmanay
As of 1st January 2022, the event is once again being run by the local community, and there is no fee to take part. It is again a more informal arrangement, although safety is taken seriously still with RNLI Lifeboat members on hand. There’s no longer a parade or live entertainment, but it gets a lot of attendees and lots of people dress up for the occasion.
Boy – does that sound like something that could be adapted in the Northwoods. Tweak the name a bit to a “Loon-y Dunk” and I think we have something! Next year!
Picture at the top is from our Minion Drop 2020 into 2021. We “dropped” our minion from the top of our barn. It was fun! Picture at the bottom is from a Loony Dook.
