Dozens killed in Bangkok nightclub during New Years party

At least 59 people were killed when a fire that broke out early Thursday at one of Bangkok's most upscale nightclubs, where about 1,000 revelers were ringing in the new year, Thai police said.

The fire, at a club called Zantika, broke out at about 12:35 a.m. (1735 GMT)

The blaze started near a stage where fireworks were being used as part of a performance, according to authorities.

Most of those who died in the building died from smoke inhalation or were trampled in a rush to get out of the club, they said.

The club is located in one of Bangkok's busiest commercial districts. Most of the fatality victims were Thai, but foreigners have been identified from Australia, the Netherlands, Nepal and Japan, police said.

Wacky things that get dropped on New Year's Eve

Everyone knows about the ball that gets dropped on New Year's Eve in Times Square. Maybe you've even heard about the 800-pound peach that gets dropped in Atlanta at midnight on Dec. 31.

But you may not have heard about the dropping of the sausage, or the gumbo pot, or the giant Peep, an 11-kilogram fibreglass replica of the famed marshmallowy candy made in Pennsylvania.

TripAdvisor.com assembled a list of these and other quirky New Year's Eve events to create a top 10 list of wacky things that get lowered on Dec. 31 around the country to mark the arrival of the new year.

The Peep show is in Bethlehem, Pa., marking the third time the city has dropped the illuminated treat from a crane at midnight as part of a family-friendly First Night celebration.

Also in Pennsylvania, in the town of Lebanon, a 2.3-metre edible bologna made by the Weaver-Kutztown Bologna Company is lowered at midnight and then donated to area charities.

In Key West, Fla., there are three such countdown celebrations: a conch shell lowered on a pole to the roof of Sloppy Joe's Bar, the lowering of "Drag Queen Sushi'' in a two-metre-tall shoe at the Bourbon Street Pub, and the descent of a costumed pirate ``wench'' from a schooner in the harbour.

In Port Clinton, Ohio, the self-proclaimed ``Walleye Capital of the World'' drops a six-metre, 272-kilogram fibreglass walleye fish at midnight.

In Elmore, Ohio, there's a sausage fest, inspired by a local business,Tank's Meats. A lit-up 5.5-metre sausage drops to welcome in the New Year, but there's also a sausage toss and a sausage-eating contest.

Mount Olive, N.C., has a pickle drop with a metre-high glowing pickle plunging down the Mount Olive Pickle Company's flagpole into a tank.

Raleigh, N.C., lowers a massive copper acorn weighing 567 kilograms from atop the city's civic centre as part of a First Night event.

A giant gumbo pot is lowered in New Orleans to mark the New Year, along with fireworks on the Mississippi.

In Easton, Md., a giant crab is what gets lowered as part of a First Night celebration, and in Plymouth, Wis., it's a great big hunk of cheese - though not an edible hunk.

What about where you live? any weird or wacky customary things happening on new years eve??

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Well it's another year....

But for what reason??

"Happy New Year!" That greeting will be said and heard 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 on January 1st.

ANCIENT NEW YEARS The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon approximately 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon (actually the first visible cresent) after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring).

The beginning of spring is a pretty logical time to start a new year.
After all, it is the season of rebirth, of planting new crops, and of blossoming. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary.

The Babylonian new year celebration lasted for eleven days. Each day had its own particular mode of celebration, It's safe to say that modern New Year's Eve festivities pale in comparison.

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 out of synchronization with the sun.

In order to set the calendar right, in 153 BC, the Roman senate, declared January 1 to be the beginning of the new year. But tampering continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has come to be known as the Julian Calendar. It again established January 1 as the new year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days.

THE CHURCH'S VIEW OF NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS
Although in the first centuries AD the Romans continued celebrating the new year, the early Catholic Church condemned the festivities 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. New Years is still observed as the Feast of Christ's Circumcision by some denominations.

During the Middle Ages, the Church remained opposed to celebrating New Years.
January 1 has been celebrated as a holiday by Western nations for only the past 400 years (give or take).


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. Popular modern resolutions might include the promise to lose weight or quit smoking. The early Babylonian's most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment to there rightful owners.

The Tournament of Roses Parade, dates back to 1886. In that year, members of the Valley Hunt Club decorated 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 of Roses in 1902, it 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 their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket, representing the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth.

Although the early Christians denounced the practice as pagan, the popularity of the baby as a symbol of rebirth forced the Church to re-evaluate 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 as a symbolic representation of the new year was brought to early America by the Germans. They had used the effigy since the fourteenth century.

FOR LUCK IN THE NEW YEAR
Traditionally, it was thought that one could affect the luck they would have throughout the coming year by what they did or ate on the first day of the year. For that reason, it has become common for folks to celebrate the first few minutes of a brand new year in the company of family and friends.

Parties often last into the middle of the night after the ringing in of a new year. It was once believed that the first visitor on New Year's Day would bring either good luck or bad luck the rest of the year. It was particularly lucky if that visitor happened to be a tall dark-haired man.

Traditional New Year foods are also thought to bring luck. Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolizes "coming full circle," completing a year's cycle. For that reason, the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year's Day will bring good fortune.

Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the new year by consuming black-eyed peas. These legumes are typically accompanied by either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. The hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity. Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable that is consumed on New Year's Day by many. Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency. In some regions, rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year's Day.

AULD LANG SYNE
The song, "Auld Lang Syne," playing in the background, 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 Burns to produce the modern rendition. An old Scotch tune, "Auld Lang Syne" literally means "old long ago," or simply, "the good old days." Can't remember the words? The lyrics can be found here.