Remembering past New Year’s Eves:  When I was growing up, we always, and I do mean always observed New Year’s Eve in a big way. It was the one night when I could stay up past midnight and have lots of fun doing just that.  We would make snacks of all sorts and watch T.V.  and when it was just about 11:55 p.m., we would drag out all the pots and pans we could carry to the front porch and start banging on them at the stroke of midnight.  Fireworks would be going off in the neighborhood, and yelling and such was also going on.  Then we went back inside and ate some yummy snacks and then off to bed we went.   Quite the night!  As I became older, I ventured out with friends but I always called first, my Grandmother, Mom Murphy from where ever I was to wish her a happy New Year.  Then I would call my mom.  Now this went on until each of them passed on.  Those two calls were at 12:01 a .m.,believe it or not.  My Grandmother was always awake as was my Mom.  One New Year’s Eve, I was out with friends and we drove past my Grandmother’s house and I put a small box of chocolates in her mailbox that was mounted on the front porch.  She found it the next day.  Random memory.

My Dad wasn’t much into the New Year’s celebration.  He was usually asleep at that hour.

When I had my own family with kids, I perpetuated the pan banging.  They seemed to like to do that as much as I did.  That later evolved into fire crackers and noise makers and such.  Party supplies and hats and various snack concoctions were added to give a flair to the night.   (to be continued)