Для прогуливающихся по праздничным улицам и площадям -- сорока на хвосте принесла:
что такое 31 декабря и 1 января...
http://www.hermes3.net/dec510.htm 12/31 (Fri):
In the festival of Yemoya, the Yoruba celebrate the primordial Goddess, mother of the Sun and Moon, in feasting and ceremonies of drumming and dance.
In the Baha'i calendar, this day honors the Deity as Sharaf, Honor.
In the ancient Asatru tradition of the Celtic and Norse peoples, this day is the famous Twelfth Night, the last of the 12 days of Yule, which began on Dec. 20, Mother Night. There is one more night of celebration now before Yule decorations come down, and the Yule tree and other holiday greenery are removed from the home, on the next day. It's customary to burn the old greenery, to symbolize the end of the old year, though each household keeps a sprig of holly, ivy or mistletoe for good luck until the next yule season.
The two-day Festival of Saturn, on the last day of the Old Year and the first day of the New, is among the most important points in the Roman ritual calendar. This first day is devoted to the double figure of Father Time. He is usually perceived as the pale death bringer in a black robe, with a scythe: Saturn the Reaper, the Shiva and Set counterpart who clears away through age, sickness and death -- and separation in the heart -- the old, spent energies that are due to fade. His other aspect, shown here, is Saturn the Keeper of Prophecy and Teacher of Esoteric Spiritual Wisdom, who holds within his lantern the Light Hologram that organizes all Knowledge. Both aspects of Saturn will be prominent in our consciousness in coming years as Pluto enters Capricorn, the sign Saturn rules, from next month.
З Новым Годам! С Новым Годом! Happy New Year!