How did you welcome the New Year? Eating twelve grapes (one on each toll of the midnight bell) in Spain? Making as much noise as you possibly could when the clock struck 12 in France? Smashing chipped glasses or crockery against the front doors of your friends in Denmark? Letting off fireworks at the stroke of midnight in Germany? (as people do elsewhere, of course. But the Germans seem to be the most enthusiastic.) Ringing a bell 108 times at a temple in Japan? In Mexico, giving your friends and family a handful of raw lentils each to ensure good fortune?
Or maybe you decided on an early night, and woke up this morning* to greet what Travelling Frogs hope will be, for all, a joyful, healthy, and fulfilling 2019. Whether this year will take you travelling far or near, or on a personal journey, this traditional Irish blessing says it all:
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields,
and until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
*(possibly feeling more alert than the late night revellers?)
travelling frogs 