When you usher in 2012 will you be thinking of the theme music from Jaws or Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus? Will it be a year of fear and dread as December 21, 2012 approaches or one during which you will focus your energies on being positive? After all, form follows thought.

The Mayan calendar has certainly stirred up a lot of interest. Some Central and South American countries expect to see a spike in tourism as various gatherings will be taking place celebrating the end of this Mayan cycle. And of course there are folks who believe that nothing is going to happen according to the prophecies of the Mayan calendar since the only reason that the calender will end in 2012 is that the mathematical convention used to determine it simply just runs out.

As we celebrate our New Year on January 1, other cultures celebrate theirs on different dates. Chinese New Year falls between January 21 and February 20. In the Chinese calendar, winter solstice must occur in the 11^th month which means that Chinese New Year usually falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice. This year it will be celebrated on January 23^rd.

Losar is the Tibetan word for New Year. It is the most important Tibetan holiday and is celebrated for 15 days. The celebration of Losar predates Buddhism in Tibet and can be traced back to the pre-Buddhist Bön period. In this early Bön tradition, every winter a spiritual ceremony was held in which people offered large quantities of incense to appease the local spirits, deities and 'protectors'. This year the Tibetan New Year will be celebrated on March 5^th.

One of America’s oldest New Year’s traditions is the singing of Auld Lang Syne, a Scottish song. The song asks whether old friends and times will be forgotten and promises to remember people of the past with fondness, "For auld lang syne, we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet." I actually was unfamiliar with this line. When we think about the New Year, let’s take a cup of kindness and pay it forward. There are so many people and animals (domestic and wild) who could benefit greatly from a little cup o’kindness.

Wishing you and your family a very Healthy and Happy New Year.

Maria and Karen