Vox explains 'Auld Lang Syne' for New Years Day 2021

Happy New Year! For the first part of today's celebration of the turning of the calendar, I'm returning to a song I last used for New Years Day in 2014, Auld Lang Syne.* Watch Vox's The New Year's Eve song, explained.

The US associates "Auld Lang Syne" with the New Year, but not everyone does.
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After the ball drops in Times Square on New Year's Eve, the crowd cheers, couples kiss, confetti flies and the song you hear is "Auld Lang Syne." For Americans this song is associated with another year passing, but it means something else entirely in other cultures. Since the Scottish poet Robert Burns first published the words to the song in the 18th century, the melody has been adapted as a soccer ballad in the Netherlands, a graduation song in Japan, and more.

This video explains how an obscure Scottish folk tune took on new life around the world and how Guy Lombardo solidified it as the sound the US hears at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve.

I'm not sure as many people as usual were singing "Auld Lang Syne" last night because 2020 was generally a year many people will not remember fondly. Still, it's worth knowing the history of the tradition.

Follow over the jump for some other traditions associated with last night and today.

Yesterday was National Champagne Day in addition to being New Year's Eve, so here is the recipe Tipsy Bartender posted for both holidays, Fortune Cookie Spiked Champagne.



Happy New Year!
I like the idea of using fortune cookies as garnish. Reading one's fortune adds a nice touch to this holiday version of the drink. I hope everyone's fortune is good!

While last night celebrated champagne, today is National Bloody Mary Day. Tipsy Bartender has a Bloody Mary recipe, too.

Here's the recipe:

BLOODY MARY
2 oz. (60ml) Vodka
4 oz. (120ml) Tomato Juice
½ oz. (15ml) Lemon Juice
4 Dashes of Tabasco Sauce
4 Dashes of Worcestershire Sauce
2 Tsp Horseradish
Pinch Black Pepper
Pinch Salt
Celery
Bacon Strip
Shrimp
Olives
Lemon Wedge
Tajin

PREPARATION
1. In a highball glass combine vodka, lemon juice, tomato juice, tabasco sauce, worcestershire sauce, horseradish, black pepper and salt. 2. Pour mix back and forth into a second glass to combine well.
3. Rim edge of serving glass with lemon juice and tajin/salt mix.
4. Add ice, bloody mary mix and garnishes. Enjoy!

One of my favorite holiday memories growing up in southern California was going to the Rose Parade, then having a tailgate lunch in the Pasadena City College parking lot afterwards waiting for the traffic to clear. Everyone would have ham sandwiches and deviled eggs while my parents and any adults they invited would drink bloody Marys. Fun times.

That reminds me. While the Rose Parade is cancelled because of the pandemic, I'm still going to have bands march in the new year with Marching Bands of the 2019 Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade from Music213.

Recap of the high school and college/university marching bands that performed in the 130th Pasadena Tournament of Roses Parade on Tuesday, January 1, 2019.

Happy New Year!


I'm not done with the holiday, as I plan on posting this year's version of NASA asks are you ready for 2020? Stay tuned!

*I last embedded a video that included "Auld Lang Syne" in 2016's Drum corps for the Wisconsin Primary. The Kilties played the song, just as they did in the 2014 post.