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Show SPRINGVILLE HERALD, Section 2 Thursday, January 5, 2006 ge rates . " 9 " '- :" r ,3 M , go into effect Jan. 8 W XT'', :"" i? 1 v as I New posta r. U 4V I 4MWk ?rH - ROBB COSTELLO Daily Herald Eight years ago when three geese, two adults and two children decided to go for a dip in a pond, a Springville tradition that was dubbed the Polar Bear Plunge was born. The plunge happens on every New Years day in sculptor Gary Price's backyard pond. Price doesn't take credit for the idea but he has been a driving force behind its growth over the years. That doesn't mean that he has jumped in every year though. "I chickened out for two or three years then there got to be too many people and I figured I had better be out there in the water too," Price said. The pond is designed so that it doesn't freeze in the winter and every year new additions are made to facilitate an easier plunge. Where today there is grass, last year there was only mud surrounding the pond. But there is nothing easy about jumping in a freezing pond in the middle of winter. Jake Bleggi, 9, from Mapleton said, "Moss gets all on you and it feels like you are going go-ing to drown." "I just wanted to because everyone was calling me a baby," explained another first-timer, Hallie Brown, 10. Not only do a lot of people get wet, but since last year they have been using the event as a fund-raiser by selling T-shirts to raise money for the Incredible Journey Arts Center in Springville. It's another New Year... 2006! "Happy New Year!" That Greeting will be said and eard for at least the first couple of weeks as a new year gets under way. But the day celebrated as New Year's Day in modern America was not always January 1. ANCIENT NEW YEARS The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed ob-served in ancient Babylon : about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began be-gan with the first New Moon (actually the first visible visi-ble cresent) after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring). The beginning of spring is a logical time to start a new year. After all, it is the season sea-son of rebirth, of planting new crops, and of blossoming. blossom-ing. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. signifi-cance. It is purely arbitrary. The Babylonian new year celebration lasted for eleven days. Each day had its own particular mode of celebration, celebra-tion, but it is safe to say that modern New Year's Eve festivities pale in comparison. compari-son. The Romans continued to observe the new year in late March, but their calendar was continually tampered with by various emperors so that the calendar soon became be-came out of synchronization synchroniza-tion with the sun. In order to set the calendar calen-dar right, the Roman senate, sen-ate, in 153 BC, declared January Jan-uary 1 to be the beginning of the new year. But tampering tam-pering continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established estab-lished what has come to be known as the Julian Calendar. Calen-dar. It again established yr, i ninwiimrwili rn- i ,r ! i n..n.i , n, r B Hm mm UMi fiiWWWMH I H mm - mm wwhiwpum Hum.mi m m m.u . i t i.im jiuhi im m n m i tm, mig i T(t 1 V . lit Z ' a January 1 as the new year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous previ-ous year drag on for 445 days. THE CHURCH'S VIEW OF NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS Although in the first centuries cen-turies AD the Romans continued con-tinued celebrating the new year, the early Catholic Church condemned the festivities fes-tivities as paganism. But as Christianity, became, more widespread, " the early church began having its own religious observances concurrently with many of the pagan celebrations, and New Year's Day was no different. dif-ferent. New Years is still observed ob-served as the Feast of Christ's Circumcision by some denominations. During the Middle Ages, the Church remained opposed op-posed to celebrating New Years. January 1 has been celebrated as a holiday by Western nations for only about the past 400 years. NEW YEAR TRADITIONS Other traditions of the season include the making of New Year's resolutions. That tradition also dates back to the early Babylonians. Babyloni-ans. Popular modern resolutions resolu-tions might include the promise to lose weight or quit smoking. The early Babylonian's most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment. The Tournament of Roses Parade dates back to 1886. In that year, members of the Valley Hunt Club decorated deco-rated their carriages with flowers. It celebrated the ripening of the orange crop in California. Although the Rose Bowl football game was first played as a part of the Tournament Tour-nament of Roses in 1902, it IE Mi lUll V IE IB 1 i ft. Vis- t - " was replaced by Roman chariot races the following year. In 1916, the football game returned as the sports centerpiece of the festival. The tradition of using a baby to signify the new year was begun in Greece around 600 BC. It was their tradition at that time to celebrate cele-brate their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket, representing represent-ing the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. fer-tility. Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth. Although the early Christians Chris-tians denounced the practice prac-tice as pagan, the popularity of the baby as a symbol of rebirth forced the Church to reevaluate its position. The Church finally allowed its members to celebrate the new year with a baby, which was to symbolize the birth of the baby Jesus. The use of an image of a baby with a New Years banner ban-ner as a symbolic representation represen-tation of the new year was brought to early America by the Germans. They had used the effigy since the fourteenth century. AULD LANG SYNE The song, "Auld Lang Syne," playing in the background, back-ground, is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year. At least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700's, it was first published in 1796 after Burns' death. Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired in-spired Burns to produce the modern rendition. An old Scotch . tune, "Auld Lang Syne" literally means "old long ago," or simply, "the good old days." 1 j ii jwst-tf lywiwiWM Effective Jan. 8, the Postal Service will raise its rates 5.4 percent. Among the rate adjustments, ad-justments, the single-piece rate for First -Class Mail will increase from 37 cents to 39 cents, and the postcard rate will increase by one cent to 24 cents. The price change, the first since 2002, isn't driven by Postal Service losses it's the law. A law passed in 2003 requires the Postal Service to establish a $3.1 billion escrow account, with use of the funds to be determined by Congress at a later date, without this federal mandate, it would not have been necessary to raise rates in 2006. A new 39 cent stamp and 2 cent stamps are on sale now. The 39 cent non-denominated First-Class definitive stamp features the Statue of Liberty and the American flag. The 2 cent stamp features a Navajo silver and turquoise necklace. In addition to 37,000 postal locations nationwide, customers cus-tomers can purchase the 39 cent and 2 cent stamps, and any other stamps, online at USPS.com or by calling 1-800-STAMP-24 (1-800-782-6724). Orders are typically delivered within three business days. International rafes, which are determined separately from domestic prices, will also change Jan. 8 for the first time since 2001. The international interna-tional increase averages 5.9 percent. The price of a one ounce airmail letter to Canada and Mexico will increase 3 cents to 63 cents, to all other countries coun-tries the increase will be 4 cents to 84 cents. The cost of an aerogramme will increase 5 cents to 75 cents. For more information on international or domestic rates, visit USPS.com. -.. ' H I I, ; ' - rr-f , r' ' igijhiMl Ipir fulfil Mr ' "i ii'pr ViMM"t 'Iflr lint iIMlrtp 'itiMlAWMiW HERITAGE WOODWORKS ESX.J986 Open Monday-Saturday, 10am-6pm 241 S. Sale Excludes Willow Tree Products When adjusted for inflation the price of a First-Class stamp is the same today as it was in 1971 when the Postal Service was created. The Postal Service has not received re-ceived taxpayer dollars for operations since 1982. Selected Domestic Rate Changes Current New First-Class Letter (1 oz.) 37z 39c First-Class Letter (2 oz.) 60c 63c Postcard 23c 24c Priority Mail (1 lb.) $3.85 $4.05 Express Mail (12 lb) jaciiws men 287 S. Main WINTER CLEARANCE! 75 Going on vacation or a cruise? Come see our new swim suits! Just arrived! 48 84 $13.65 $14.40 Express Mail $17.85 $18.80 (2 lb) Domestic Fee and Service Changes Current New Certified Mail $2.30 $2.40 Delivery Confirmation (Priority) (Pri-ority) 45c 50c Delivery Confirmation (First Class Parcels) 55c 60c Return Receipt (Original Signature) $1.75 $1.85 Return Receipt (Electronic) $1.30 $1.35 Money Orders (up to $500) 90c 95c V Springville 100 W. Springville OFF" I 1 |
