The following is from the Old Farmer's Almanac which I get all the time through email. I like to read the stuff they say about the seasons and the holidays. As I read it I thought about how as the years have gone by I have more and more wanted to find myself in a quiet place at midnight. Could it be that my spirit was longing to allow God to be the one taking me into a new year? Could it be that my spirit, without understanding, was trying to yield to his expression instead of the world around me? I like to think so and this year I will think of the words below and with greater understanding will let my mind be in agreement with what my spirit is drawn too.

From the Old Farmer's Almanac......

New Year’s Eve—December 31
Among the various superstitions surrounding the advent of the New Year is the nearly mandatory practice of noisemaking at midnight.

Now looked upon as mere revelry, it was once meant to drive out the old year and banish evil spirits, who would be scared off by the noise.

Many end-of-year practices actually date from ancient times. As early as 2600 B.C., Babylonians celebrated the new year with 11-day-long feasts and originated the noisemaking habit.

• In ancient Thailand, guns were fired to frighten off demons.
• In China, firecrackers routed the forces of darkness.
• In the early American colonies, the sounds of pistol shots rang through the air.

Today, Italians let their church bells peal, the Swiss beat drums and pots and pans, and North Americans sound sirens, car horns, boat whistles, and party horns—as well as set off fireworks—to bid the old year farewell.