Five Fun 2026 Factoids
At last 2026 is ready to make its grand entrance. For many of us, this new year will be welcomed with quieter celebrations and a deep seated hope that in the months ahead:
Each of us will be kinder to every one of our neighbors no matter our differences.
Individuals, corporations and governments will better care for this fragile planet that asks so little and provides so much.
The choices made in the present will encourage a safer and healthier world for future generations.
While searching for fresh New Year’s Eve trivia, I came upon these bits and pieces about the annual ritual of putting the old year to rest and welcoming the bright eyed and promise-filled new year. I hope you enjoy perusing the following snippets and links as you watch the ball drop, uncork your sparkling beverage of choice, and look forward to a safe night and a better year.
February 17, 2026 marks the beginning of the Year of the Fire Horse. According to Chinese astrology, this year is one of drive, forward movement, and taking action.
Gallop into knowledge when you visit:
https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h02544/
https://www.hindustantimes.com/htcity/leisure/as-the-year-of-the-snake-ends-the-year-of-the-horse-begins-heres-what-this-chinese-zodiac-transition-means-for-you-101764578140102.html
New Year’s Eve revelers sip more than 360 million glasses of sparkling wine, including the always popular champagne, when welcoming the New Year. True champagne is made exclusively in the Champagne region in France and is protected by French law.
Dive in for more information:
https://www.champagne.fr/en/about-champagne/a-great-blended-wine/the-champagne-region
Whether you love them or hate them, those New Year’s Resolutions have been around for a long time. Did you know that they date back 4,000 years to the ancient Babylonians? Akitu was their new year celebration which took place each spring, and lasted not for a day or two, but for 12 days! Generations later, it was the Romans who connected the new year’s arrival to January 1st.
Travel through time when you stop by:
https://www.npr.org/2025/12/31/nx-s1-5649767/new-years-resolutions-history
Hmmm, what about those predictions that everyone likes to make at the close of the old year? Does your family and/or circle of friends make, seal and revisit the preceding year’s predictions as mine used to? How right, or completely wrong, have you been overall?
To learn how challenging prognostication can be, you might like to visit the past:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/oracle/2015/12/29/everything-you-need-to-know-about-2026/
And for those fashionistas, I imagine you are wearing polka dots this evening. In the Philippines, round dots, round fruits, round lots of things signify prosperity.
Connect the dots to learn about more ways the world ensures a happy, healthy, and rewarding new year:
https://www.littlepassports.com/blog/world-holidays/fun-quiz-new-years-eve-traditions-around-the-world/
https://www.sbs.com.au/language/filipino/en/article/which-of-these-10-pinoy-new-years-eve-superstitions-do-you-follow/8wbf3a77t
On a personal note, years ago I realized that my numerous resolutions were little more than to-do lists that I was certain never to finish. I was in the midst of berating myself for once again meeting the new year with few if any check marks next to a long list of self-perceived failures when I realized, nope; I hadn’t lost a zillion pounds, or created perfect sugar art, or opened my dream book-coffee-classic movie house. But I had done a lot of other pretty cool things. The year had been creative, just not in the ways I had specified.
And the New Year’s Theme was born.
Every year I choose a theme that matters to me. One year it was: Take Advantage Of. Another year it was: Release. Last year was: Now and Forward.
This year’s theme is: Completion.
I fully expect to greet 2027 with not only a new theme, but with the satisfaction that comes from having traveled full circle, having completed at the very least another lap around the sun!
Whether you make official Resolutions, opt for a theme, carefully map out your days, or simply go with the flow of life’s always changing river, I sincerely wish each of you a year overflowing with lasting love, boundless empathy, and quiet strength.
Susan
