New Year's Gift of Love Ends Island Ordeal
A Cuban exile recounts deportation to Isle of Pines, where a cave hideaway becomes home. Olivia, his fiancée, joins him with risk and romance as they plan escape by raft. Sharks strike, tragedy nearly times, but a ship rescues them at Grand Cayman where they wed and begin anew in the new year.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Patriot
Avana
Grant Weyler
Palace
Batabano
Isle of Pines
Ceuta
Crystal Hill
Havana
Olivia
Ban Amadeo
Meither Sea
Olvia
Roaine
Grand Cayman
Ife
Buffalo Evening News
Why does Von Swigg wet his finger in the glass
A quirky verse fragment contemplates a character named Von Swigg and his habit of wetting a finger to turn over a new leaf on the first day of the year. It frames themes of future business and renewed resolve without a clear narrative.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
von Swigg
Financially, Uncle William Seeks Six Dollars by July
A fragmented 1903 era exchange shows a man asking for six dollars between now and July. The dialect piece hints at budgeting and future purchases as the speaker contemplates New Year resolutions and frugal planning.
Always Worth While On Bay YO Encouraged You Friend
A fragmentary dialogue recalls a New Year resolution conversation. The slangy speaker expresses doubt about sticking to plans, while another character counters with optimism that even if a lapse occurs, they will still be ahead by weeks.
Untidy diary prank reflects habit of lazy resolutions
A remark about a notably lazy man from La Har describes him pasting a 1902 diary entry into 1908 rather than writing fresh resolutions. This quip highlights a humorous lapse in self discipline.
New Year's Card History Reveals Elegant Victorian Etiquette
A Washington Post writer explains how visiting cards evolved from simple name slips to miniature art. 18th and 19th century cards featured engravings of Rome’s arches, duchesses, naval and military insignia, and even home sketches. embossed borders and portraits reflected status, with leaders like Horace Walpole noting dramatic designs and the practice of visiting en blanc.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Washington Post
Duchess of Dorset
Holle Street
Cavendish Square
Lord Byron
En Blanc
Italy
Albans
Bolton
Grafton
Horace Walpole
Rome
Berlin
St. Peter's
Castle of St. Angelo
Leeds
Sylvester Abend in Berlin New Year's Eve Customs
A 19th century observer recalls a German New Year celebration in Berlin. At ten, after supper, guests gathered in the parlor then enjoyed cake apples and jam filled Berlin planks. The Christmas tree was relit, bells rang, and people toasted with Prosit Neujahr as coaches and passersby joined in the cheer.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Berlin
Sylvester Abend
Germany
Tha
Wonan
Droschky
Old Time New Years Customs and Watch Night Observance
This reminiscence traces old rural New Year customs from the central west, noting the shift from Christmas to New Year’s “watch night.” It describes superstitions, church services at midnight, and the spread of calls, with African and Chinese influences, and contrasts New York Dutch beginnings with later anglomania that diminished popular calling yet preserved simple observances in some communities.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Central West
United States
States
Ohio
United Brethren
Egypt
Scotland
Kentucky
Indiana
Maryland
Winds
Missouri
The
Battery
New York
Mynheer
Vrouw
New Amsterdam
Broadway
Astor House
Union
Fifth Avenue
Murray Hill
New Year Superstitions From Lincolnshire Peasants
In provincial England and New Orleans a New Year belief holds that fighting must not begin at home before a fight is imported. Allowing a woman to enter first brings evil, as does throwing out dirty water or sweeping from hearth to door. Morning fires spread ashes to the threshold to avert death, and a footmark toward or away from the house predicts birth or death respectively.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
England
New Orleans
Lincolnshire
Thoughtful William Smithers Ponders Year Origins
Bald, the thoughtful William Smithers questions the source of the new year and the fate of the old year, seeking clear answers about where time begins and how years pass, in a reflective musing.
MENTIONED IN THIS ARTICLE
Bald
William Smithers
Ny Ming
Also Mentioned on This Page
Hamlet
Irving
F. A. Ober
San Cristobal
Carmela
Yelios
Etiquettl
Lahar
Gharmer
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