Going to a New Years Eve party? Friend making a New Year’s resolution? Someone starting a new adventure (a new business perhaps, or a New Beginning)? We have some of the best New Year gift ideas . . especially lucky charms and jewellery to wish luck and success in the coming year
See our shop for GIFTS for LUCK in NEW YEAR, NEW JOB, NEW START . .
New Year is a great time to give gifts of goodwill, warm wishes and well meaning to friends for the future. After the hubbub of Christmas with its family brouhaha and relationship complexities, New Years is about looking forward with hope and good intent. Some people, after 12 months of difficulties and disappointments are hoping for better fortunes in the coming year: Even for someone who has had a spectacularly good year, things can always get better! and this is the time of year to pass on your New Year wishes and help make good New Year resolutions come true, and wish them good luck for any New Beginnings.
New Beginnings or a New Start at New Year
New Year is a time for new beginnings and many people welcome the chance to start afresh and leave the past in the past: The New Start or New Beginning could be a new job, a new relationship, a new house / home or a first day in a new environment. Wishing someone luck with New Year lucky charm jewellery, for example, makes the best New Year’s gift. Youngsters or children could be going back to college or University to sit their final exams and need a little boost to their confidence.
SEE some LUCKY JEWELLERY for a NEW JOB or NEW START in our online shop
New Year gift ideas?!
But, as so excellently portrayed in the DailyMeal website, New Year is not only a time for new beginnings, but also a time for old traditions to encourage good fortune in the year to come: For example, at New Year in Estonia, some people leave part of their meal unfinished for the spirits of their ancestors who are said to visit the house on New Years Eve.
On New Year’s Eve in Brazil, many people dress in white (said to keep away evil spirits) and jump over seven waves on the Copacabana beach, offering flowers and a wish to the goddess Lemanja while making seven wishes for the coming year. In the Netherlands, eating doughnut-like pastries that are filled with apples and currants is said to be lucky on New Years Day. In Sweden they serve rice pudding with an almond hidden inside and whoever finds the almond is said to receive good fortune throughout the coming year . . a bit like the Mexican “Rosca de Reyes” which is baked with a coin or charm inside (often depicting baby Jesus) for good luck. The Danes and the Germans eat fish (especially herring) on New Year’s Eve because their folklore says that it will ensure good luck. In Denmark, they also throw dishes on friends’ doorsteps which is said to show how much they value them as friends! And the Germans, like the Austrians, eat marzipan pigs for good fortune on New Year’s Eve.
Of course the English and Scottish have great traditions too: In 13th Century England, handsels were given as good luck charms when someone started a new job or at a new time in their life . . and particularly at New Year. It was recognised that this new start in someone’s life often needed some special help – and a good luck gift for a new job was thought ideal. The Scots in particular take part in “first footing” on New Year’s Day, bringing gifts of shortbread and whisky to a neighbour’s house.
SEE some HOUSE and OFFICE GIFTS for a NEW JOB or NEW START in our online shop
New Year’s Day marks the Festival of Saint Basil in Greece, where children leave their shoes out to be filled with gifts. St. Basil’s bread is baked with small trinkets inside, bringing luck to those who find them. Also as a symbol of birth and regrowth in the New Year, an onion can be hung on the front door of one’s home – alongside the Christmas pomegranate.
Good New Year resolutions?!
Italians hang mistletoe over the front door to bring good luck . . and eat lentils for prosperity. Women in Mexico wear red underwear if they wish to marry in the New Year, and pink is worn by pregnant women to bring luck to the baby. Those hoping to travel, carry an empty suitcase around the block! Many people in Spain and Latin countries eat 12 grapes as a bell is rung 12 times at midnight. Each grape represents a month of the year. By eating them at midnight each participant hopes to have happiness and luck for the next 12 months. And in Russia, people write a wish on paper, burn it, and then add the ashes to a glass of Champagne, and drink it immediately before midnight.
In many of these countries, there is a strong Catholic tradition or belief and holiday celebrations go on until Epiphany on January 6, and the whole fortnight from Christmas is dedicated to making wishes, giving blessings and engaging in soothsaying about luck and prosperity in the New Year. The symbols of Spain’s Camino de Santiago (the 1,000-year-old pilgrimage to the shrine of St. James in the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela – also known as the Way of St. James), also make great New Year gifts (for example, to wish good luck on a new adventure):
It is worth pointing out however, that not all New Year celebrations take place on 1st January. The Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah and it takes place in early Autumn. People eat apples and honey for a lucky year to come. The Chinese New Year is in February because they follow the lunar calendar . . but they still indulge themselves with lucky foods: Noodles, symbolising a long life, and dumplings which resemble gold nuggets.
The best New Year gift ideas?
Butterflies or rather, butterfly symbols (like the ever-popular tattoo, for example) are often used by people embarking on a change . . such as the new life that the New Year can symbolically bring. People are also asked to accept changes in their life . . just like the butterfly when it transforms itself from a little caterpillar. Butterflies can be symbolic of faith too, allowing the wind to carry us (and them) forward to our new goals and dreams. * BUTTERFLY CHARM JEWELLERY makes a great New Year gift for a friend’s new start in life . . their new beginning with new resolutions. This can be particularly true with teenagers moving into adulthood . . a symbol of letting go of old cycles and of finding a true inner self – expanding awareness, spreading one’s wings and moving forward to find their own place in life. Butterfly charm jewellery therefore makes the perfect gift for a friend’s new start in life . . their new beginning.
Another symbol of ‘reincarnation’ especially poignant at New Year, is the TAU Cross (also available in our shop with Jet / Azabache inlays): This can be gifted as a means of encouraging friends to have patience and acceptance, as they await their new start, their new beginning . . encouraging them to accept the things of the past – but also encouraging them to move on to a new life – to start a new adventure: A nice option for a New Years gift.
And then there is the ANCHOR symbol . . particularly for those who are having difficulties in life, the anchor can imply a self promise: To take stock, settle down and plan for a stable future – a symbol of hope with a fresh start. For those who are about to embark on something new and challenging, they can move forward to a new place in their life, make a new start, a new beginning – planting new roots and finding a better life – coupled with the hope for new stability and security . . with the confidence, self-assuredness, and trust in their ability to survive and succeed.
And of course, the ubiquitous lucky HORSESHOE is always a good bet. Or perhaps we should just do as the Danes do . . and break a few plates on our neighbour’s doorstep!
See some ACCESSORIES to WISH LUCK in a NEW JOB or a NEW START . . or for a New Year in our shop online
Make a resolution to send a happy New Year lucky charm gift for health and happiness this year: New business? New adventure? Get-well gift? Send warm wishes to someone for good luck in their new challenge, new start or new beginning.
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