1st Day of 2002 -- 364 Days Remaining
Tuesday, January 1, 2002. The 226 year of American Independence. Year 6715 of the Julian Period.
Year of the Palindrome.
Rites of mortification, purgation, invigoration and jubilation over life's renewal. And we always thought New Year's Day was simply
the first legal holiday of the year set aside to watch FOOTBALL. Well, needless to say, this all too common belief is more than a
little naive and way too parochial. This holiday has depth. It has roots that go back years beyond the first Rose Bowl -- like almost
4000 years to 2,000 B.C. in Mesopotamia.
In early medieval times, most of Christian Europe considered March 25 as the beginning of the year. In 1582, the Gregorian calendar reversed
that trend and restored the honor of New Year's Day to January 1st.
Without a doubt, New Year's Day is among the oldest, and almost universally observed festivals in the world.
Traditionally, this day is a time for personal stocktaking, resolutions, and for rest after New Year's Eve festivities. But! it's also a day
for FOOTBALL and for numerous other events that are fun to know about.
One of my favorites is the announcement of the ten best puns of the year. On January 1, The International Save The Pun Foundation based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada,
salutes the best punsters of the year. They say it's for encouraging wordplay and combatting illiteracy, but I suspect they just want to get on the Letterman Show.
Another special list originates from Lake Superior State University in Saulte Ste. Marie, Michigan. Every year since 1976,
the folks in Michigan's U.P. publish a list of overworked words and phrases banished from Queen's English. It's called the New Year's Dishonor List and word phrases like
uniquely unique, first time ever, negative growth, going forward and safe sex have been on the list in the past.
What else is going on New Year's Day? Well, some brave swimmers in Rhode island take a dip in the icy waters of Narrangansett Bay to benefit the Special Olympics. They call it
the Penguin Plunge. However, over in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, they call it the Polar Bear Swim. Each New Year's Day at 1:00 p.m., more than 450 costumed swimmers play tag with Lake Michigan
ice flows. TRADITION!
Also, many famous people were born on this date. Paul Revere, the American patriot, silversmith, maker of false teeth, eyeglasses and picture frames was born on January 1, 1735. Betsy
Ross, the seamstress of our first stars-and-stripes flag was born on January 1, 1752. And, last but not least, the content provider for all of those Merchant Ivory films, E.M. Forster was
born on January 1, 1879. For those of you who are not familiar with the movies, E.M. Forster is known for six novels including: Where Angels Fear To Tread (1905), The Longest Journey (1907),
A Room With A View (1908), Howard's End (1910), A Passage To India (1924), and Maurice (posthumously published in 1971).
And finally, This is the first year since 1991 that is also a palindrome. That is, 2002 is the same both forward and backwards. Hence, 2002 has been declared the year of the palindrome. For a list of palindromes
(a word, number or anagram spelled the same backwards and forwards) you can visit Jim Kalb's website. Jim has collected a rather large list of palindromes along
with links to other palindrome websites. Although this is an obscure, obsolete web page, the University of Reading, Department of Computer Science in Berkshire, England has a web page at http://www.cs.reading.ac.uk/archive/palindrome/emordnilap/evihcra/ku.ca.gdr.sc.www/:ptth/
that actually warns vistors to "Beware of AIBOHPHOBIA, the fear of palindromes!." NOTE: Their URL is a palindrome as is the word "AIBOHPHOBIA."
This day has so much to talk about but since I've resolved to be less verbose, to continue would definitely be a conflict.
Have a Happy New Year!
Banished Word List -2002
Banished Word List -2001
Banished Word List -2000
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