New Year’s Day was traditionally a time to make gifts.
New Year’s Day was traditionally a time to make gifts. According to the history channel, the Romans celebrated with offerings to their god Janus for the sake of fortune, and friends and neighbors exchanged gifts of figs and honey in hopes of starting positively next year. Celebrate the New Year in some of the best New Year’s Eve celebrations around the world.
Now, the New Year’s gift isn’t what it used to be. Still, the emphasis is still on starting a positive start (hence all these resolutions!). Why not pay homage to an old tradition by giving a friend or neighbor a New Year’s plant? You can also try some of these New Year’s traditions in different parts of the word.
A new year plant is a living symbol of good news and new beginnings. As a practical note, it offers a good burst of color when the outer landscape of much of the country is bleak and sad. Anyone at the reception of your gift plant will probably appreciate having something alive to care for.
So what makes it a good New Year’s plant? It should be something that is out of the ordinary. A common indoor plant will not. Instead, consider a lucky bamboo, a florist azalea, or a succulent one. Lucky bamboo is a symbol of good fortune, the azalea is a perennial leaf quite full of bright colors when it blooms and succulent plants are easy to make (and also in sight!).
Do you know anyone who tries to eat healthier? Give them a basket of herbs. You can buy a premade one or put it together on the fly. Pick up a second-hand basket at a thrift store, line it with plastic, fill it with a pot of mixture, and plant or sow the seeds of herbs such as basil, parsley, sage, and oregano. .
Another idea is the bonsai: a tree pruned to mimic a full-size tree on a miniature scale. Bonsai, available at garden centers and florists, represent an ancient tradition of caring for plants that are passed down from generation to generation. This has great potential wrapped in a small plant (and we mean little). Now, whether you get a New Year’s Eve plant or not, consider making these New Year’s resolutions that you’ll want to keep forever.