In the USA, the “holiday season” runs from the late fall, around Halloween and Thanksgiving, through Christmas, till New Year’s Day, January 1.
Since many people stay up till midnight on New Year’s Eve, December 31, to “ring in the new year,” those people may sleep in and wake up a bit tired on January 1. And for those who felt the need to hit the bottle on New Year’s Eve, they may enter the first day of the new year with a headache too!
New Year’s Day is a USA federal holiday, so banks, schools, national parks, and post offices, etc. are all closed, as well as many businesses. (In fact, schools and colleges are all closed for about a two- to four-week period, in honor of Christmas and New Year.)
Frankly, compared to Christmas, in which excitement builds for several weeks, New Year’s Day is generally low-key. Many people sleep in that day, and they may later call, text, or visit friends or family, wishing them a happy new year.
One traditional New Year’s Day dish is “Hoppin’ John.” It’s made with black-eyed peas, tomatoes, and cornbread. Some believe eating it on January 1 will bring good luck in the new year. I still clearly remember New Year’s Day, 2015. My family and I had just moved into our new home, which is also the office of Dreyer Academy LLC, just a few days before, during the week between Christmas and New Years. (As teachers, we wanted to move during a time when school was closed, so we did not have to teach, and could just focus on the move.) By January 1, parts of our house had been set up, but we still had lots of boxes sitting around too. (Moving is a lot of work and hassle!) Mom and Dad wanted to give us a break, so they came over that day and, while Dad helped us unpack some boxes, Mom made Hoppin’ John for us. It was delicious, and it was great having a hot, homecooked meal made for us right there, so we could enjoy that in the middle of our busy unpacking day.
Here are some photos of us enjoying Hoppin’ John on Jan. 1, 2018, at home. The recipe is here.
With a new year, many people also like to think back on the past year, evaluate what went well and poorly, and make plans for a more successful new year. This is the end of the so-called “holiday season,” because most K-12 schools and all stores and regular jobs get back to normal on January 2. (One exception is colleges: their spring term classes normally start one to two weeks later.)
With all the extra eating and festivities from Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, many people have put on a few pounds, so for many people starting on January 2, one of their main goals is to lose some weight!
On the topic of goals and the new year, check out our podcast episode 2018 New Year’s message about S.M.A.R.T. goals.
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In the new year, do YOU have a goal to improve your English? See how we can help you! Contact Scott today!
Since 2010, based in the friendly USA State of Virginia, DreyerCoaching.com has been providing customized, high-quality, real-time language instruction via the internet to a global audience in their home, school, or office. Think how comfortable, confident and successful you or your child will feel, receiving personalized guidance from college-educated teachers who are native speakers and have bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees plus decades of teaching experience. Whether you are looking for help with the ABCs or the SATs, or college admissions to conversational English to business writing, we serve all ages and levels to help our students make dreams come true. Discover the Dreyer Difference. Take the first step and visit DreyerCoaching.com, send Scott an email, or schedule a free consultation to get started.
自 2010 年以来，DreyerCoaching.com 总部位于友好的美国弗吉尼亚州，一直通过互联网向全球观众在家中、学校或办公室提供有制度的、高质量的实时语言教学。 想想您或您的孩子会感到多么自在、自信和成功，从受过大学教育的教师那里获得个别的指导，这些教师都是以英语为母语，拥有学士、硕士和博士学位，以及数十年的教学经验的教师。 无论是从 英语ABC的基础课程 或 SAT 的帮助，就读美国高中，大学入学申请，还是从会话英语到商务写作，我们都为所有年龄和水平的学生提供服务，帮助我们的学生实现梦想。 发觉 Dreyer 的不同之处。 迈出第一步，游览 DreyerCoaching.com网站，向 Scott 发送电子邮件，可开始安排一个免费咨询。
