http://www.axxp.com/index.php zh-cn http://www.axxp.com/read.php?51 admin <admin@yourname.com> Wed, 11 Jun 2008 15:07:49 +0000 http://www.axxp.com/read.php?51 Strictly speaking, an "attorney" is one who acts on behalf of another person in some capacity. An "attorney-in-fact" is akin to an agent who acts on behalf of another person, typically with respect to business, property, or personal matters. Such an agent does not have to be licensed to practice law and may not need to have any license at all.

By contrast an attorney-at-law, or lawyer, is a person trained and licensed by a relevant jurisdiction to practice law by representing clients in legal matters and giving legal advice. In the United States, the term attorney, standing alone, generally refers to this meaning rather than to "attorney-in-fact".

The term "attorney-in-fact" is mostly seen in the context of someone representing another person's interest in business negotiations or regarding signature pages on documents where the person signing is doing so on the basis of a power of attorney. The term power of attorney generally relates to an attorney-in-fact, not an attorney-at-law. Alternative titles for "power of attorney" type documents in non-U.S. jurisdictions include the French "Pouvoir", the German "Vollmacht" and the Portuguese "Procuração".


[edit] Attorney-at-Law and Attorney General
The term Attorney General is used to designate the chief law enforcement officer of a state or other political jurisdiction. The Attorney General is a lawyer who represents the government, prosecutes criminal cases, defends the government from lawsuits against it, and brings civil lawsuits to enforce consumer protection, antitrust, and other laws.


[edit] Older U.S. terminology and non-U.S. terminology
In common law jurisdictions outside the United States (e.g., England, Canada, Australia), attorney is incorrect as a general term, and lawyer, barrister, or solicitor is used instead. In these areas, the specific terms Crown attorney, power of attorney, and Attorney General, are also used. In intellectual property, the term patent attorney is commonly used.

In earlier times, some states, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court, maintained a divided legal profession, as can still be found in the United Kingdom, consisting of attorneys (who practised in courts of Law), solicitors (who practised in courts of Equity ) and barristers, also known as counsel, whom solicitors and attorneys instructed to appear in the higher courts. In deference to this practice, when an attorney at law is admitted to practice in some states, his or her certificate of admission bears the title Attorney and Counselor-at-Law in recognition of his inheritance of both of these roles.

Some attorneys use the post-nominal Esq., the abbreviated form of the word Esquire.


[edit] The job of an attorney
Once admitted to practice by the highest court of a state (a function sometimes administered by the state's bar association), an American attorney may file legal pleadings and argue cases in any state court (federal courts usually require separate admission), provide legal advice to clients, and draft important legal documents such as wills, trusts, deeds, and contracts.

In some states, real estate closings may be performed only by attorneys, even though the attorney's role in a closing may involve primarily notarization of documents and disbursement of settlement funds through an escrow account.

Practicing law includes interviewing a client to identify the legal question, analyzing the question, researching relevant law, devising legal solutions to problems, and executing such solutions through specific tasks such as drafting a contract or filing a motion with a court.

Most academic legal training is directed to identifying legal issues, researching facts and law, and arguing both the facts and law in favor of either side in any case.

For several years, law schools have sent through far more students than new job openings have become available. This has often lead to attorneys (once they pass the bar) seeking work in other occupations, either by choice or by the lack of employment opportunities. This has led to a market in legal temps or contract attorneys, where attorneys spend a certain period of time working on tasks such as discovery for a case.


[edit] Media images
Contrary to the media image of attorneys, a great deal of litigation and regulatory legal work is spent conducting research in a law library or in an electronic database like Westlaw, LexisNexis, or Bloomberg L.P. Many attorneys also spend a large portion of their working time drafting documents, such as legal briefs, contracts, wills and trusts. Few television programs and movies accurately portray the hours conducting research, often surrounded by a pile of books or printouts, or drafting documents which form the core of the occupational life of many attorneys.

One occasional exception is the television program Law & Order, which sometimes shows the main characters researching at a computer late into the night (always using Westlaw, due to a contract between Westlaw and the show's producers). Some episodes also show lawyers keeping a small rack of clothes in their office for those times when research lasts all night and the character does not have time to go home to change.

Another notable portrayal of the profession was the series Murder One which featured a group of lawyers as central characters. The Practice did as well, but its accuracy may be questionable.[citation needed]

Movies and television also generally show attorneys focused on a single case. Most litigators have many cases in progress at any given time. Each case has deadlines that must be carefully monitored and court dates which one must not forget. Because they often balance many cases at once, attorneys that litigate often have difficult working lives when important documents must be drafted or other work must be performed on different cases at one time.[citation needed]

In litigation, attorneys spend much time discovering the facts of the case to develop a "theory of the case" that integrates facts and law in a way most favorable to their client. Many attorneys believe[citation needed] that the discovery process has reduced the number of civil cases that actually go to trial since the discovery process often allows for a clear evaluation of the merits of each side's position.

Some attorneys are not trial lawyers. Non-trial attorneys are sometimes called transactional lawyers or corporate lawyers. Transactional or corporate attorneys specialize in activities that seldom involve them in litigation, such as writing legal opinion letters, drafting wills or trust documents, advising clients, structuring business transactions, negotiating and drafting contracts, developing tax strategies, or preparing and prosecuting filings with government agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the Patent and Trademark Office.

Tags - office , program , images , attorney , encyclopedia , job ]]> http://www.axxp.com/read.php?50 admin <admin@yourname.com> Wed, 11 Jun 2008 14:58:38 +0000 http://www.axxp.com/read.php?50
Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Md., former Chairman of the Maryland Legal Services Corporation and a long-time supporter of legal aid in his home state, called the hearing to explore actions Congress could take to provide more low-income Americans with meaningful access to justice.

"When federal judges take their judicial oath prescribed in the United States Code, they swear to administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich,'" said Senator Cardin. "I am gravely concerned that our current civil justice system makes it difficult for judges to perform their proper function, when either one or both of the parties do not have access to a lawyer or legal assistance for serious cases."

Ms. Barnett testified about LSC's groundbreaking 2005 report entitled, Documenting the Justice Gap in America-The Current Unmet Civil Legal Needs of Low-Income Americans, which found that chronic funding shortages force LSC-funded programs to turn away 50 percent of eligible low-income Americans seeking their assistance. Statewide legal needs studies released since 2005 have consistently shown that LSC's report actually underestimates the total unmet need for civil legal services.

"All those committed to a civil society know that turning away half of the people who seek legal assistance is not acceptable," said Barnett. "Equal justice under law is a bedrock principle and these numbers do not reflect equal justice."

Ms. Chiles told the Committee about LSC's progress implementing reforms recommended by the Government Accountability Office in recent reports on the Corporation's governance and accountability, and grants management and oversight.

A second panel of legal aid experts and other witnesses consisted of Texas Civil District Court Judge Lora J. Livingston, who testified on behalf of the American Bar Association, Jo-Ann Wallace, President of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, Wilhelm H. Joseph, Executive Director of Maryland's Legal Aid Bureau, Kenneth F. Boehm, Chairman of the National Legal and Policy Center, Jeanette M. Franzel from the Government Accountability Office, and Rebekah Diller from the Brennan Center for Justice.

Senator Patrick J. Leahy, D-Vt., Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, submitted a statement for the record, as did Committee members Charles E. Grassley, R-IA, and Russ Feingold, D-Wis.

Tags - legal , services , corporation ]]> http://www.axxp.com/read.php?49 admin <admin@yourname.com> Thu, 22 May 2008 06:18:59 +0000 http://www.axxp.com/read.php?49
我只说句

祈禱,逝者安息,生者平安...
Tags - 512 , 地震 , 519 , 悼念 ]]> http://www.axxp.com/read.php?48 admin <admin@yourname.com> Thu, 10 Apr 2008 07:04:32 +0000 http://www.axxp.com/read.php?48 ]]> http://www.axxp.com/read.php?47 admin <admin@yourname.com> Thu, 10 Apr 2008 07:03:09 +0000 http://www.axxp.com/read.php?47 http://www.axxp.com/read.php?46 admin <admin@yourname.com> Thu, 10 Apr 2008 07:00:34 +0000 http://www.axxp.com/read.php?46 SAN ANTONIO, April 9 (AP) - It may or may not have been a playoff preview, but the Phoenix Suns played - and talked - as if their game against the San Antonio Spurs was taking place during the postseason.

Amare Stoudemire led six Suns players in the double digits on the way to a 96-79 victory over the defending champions on Wednesday night.

"Anytime you come here it's a good win,'' Steve Nash said. "But we're also still fighting for seeding. It gives us another possibility as far as seeding goes.''

The Suns won their second game in a row on the second night of a back-to-back and remained in sixth place in the Western Conference.

Shaquille O'Neal had eight of his 16 points in the decisive fourth quarter and grabbed nine rebounds for Phoenix. Nash scored 12 points - including eight in the fourth quarter - and had 10 assists.

O'Neal was back after missing Tuesday's game with a right hip contusion.

"I played through everything,'' O'Neal said. "I told them that if they play me single coverage, let me make them pay. I'm still the baddest 36-year-old ever created.''

O'Neal said he took it as an insult that the Spurs didn't double him late.

Tim Duncan scored 23 points and had 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who have now lost seven at home this season, and Tony Parker added 20 points.

The two teams continue to jockey for seeding in the West, but Wednesday's result didn't change their positioning. San Antonio remained in second place behind New Orleans.

Though they're four seeds apart, just a half-game separates the Spurs and Suns, who could match up with any number of teams in the first round - including each other. The two had a physical and testy second-round series last year that San Antonio won in six games on its way to the title.

On Wednesday, Stoudemire started down that road again, this time during the regular season.

Spurs forward Bruce Bowen ran into Stoudemire in the fourth quarter, upsetting the Suns center.

"Bruce came elbow first. Elbowed me right in my rib cage,'' Stoudemire said. "You know, definitely wasn't a basketball play on his part and I reacted. I definitely didn't appreciate it. So, I let him know about it.''

Bowen didn't talk postgame.

During last year's playoff series, Stoudemire called the Spurs a "dirty team'' and singled out Bowen in particular.

Up by four points with a quarter to play, O'Neal and Nash helped Phoenix pull away in the fourth, spearheading a decisive 13-0 run to go up by 19 points - 92-73 - with 3:52 to go. Not long after, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich cleared his bench.

Phoenix outscored San Antonio 24-11 in the fourth.

"Defense was solid. The offense just couldn't sustain - miss after miss. A lot of that falls on me. I got a lot of shots in the fourth quarter, what I felt were good looks. They just didn't go down for me,'' said Duncan, who was 1-of-5 from the field in the fourth quarter.

Last week in a 90-64 loss against Utah, the Spurs scored 26 in the second half and nine in the fourth quarter. They beat Portland 72-65 on Sunday.

"It's turned into a concern because that's three games we really struggled offensively,'' Manu Ginobili said. "We didn't score more than 80 this weekend. The main concern is offensively. We're just not sharp enough. We're not making shots. We're playing too slow. So we've got to work on that.''

Leandro Barbosa scored 14 for the Suns, Boris Diaw had 11 and Raja Bell 10.

Michael Finley added 10 points for San Antonio.

The Spurs jumped out to an early lead off of the Suns' poor shooting, but Phoenix fought back in the second quarter, taking a brief lead during an 8-0 run highlighted by Nash's first score of the game and six straight points from Stoudemire, who hit his second of back-to-back dunks over Duncan off a no-look pass from Nash.

The teams were tied 45-45 at the half.

After three quarters the Suns had improved their shooting to better than 50 percent and while Nash still wasn't scoring, he was dishing the ball left and right to find openings for teammates.

Diaw's dunk - off a pass from Nash - put the Suns up 67-66 with 2:20 to go in the third and was part of Phoenix's 11-2 run to close the quarter and take a 72-68 margin with 12 minutes to go.

The Suns - the league's top 3-point shooters - also started hitting from beyond the arc. They had two 3s as part of the third-quarter closing burst and Barbosa opened the final period with his second 3 of the night.

Notes: The Suns won the season series 3-1. ... Of the race for seed position in the West, Popovich said pregame: "It's been a real competitive year more than any other year and the playoffs will be fantastic because of that. ... There are no favorites really, it doesn't matter what the seeding is going to be, the seeding is really irrelevant.'' ... The Suns finished 4-of-11 from 3-point range. The Spurs were 2-of-9.


Copyright 2007 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited
Tags - nba ]]> http://www.axxp.com/read.php?45 admin <admin@yourname.com> Thu, 10 Apr 2008 06:41:08 +0000 http://www.axxp.com/read.php?45 黑客：我控制了你的电脑
小白：怎么控制的？
黑客：用木马
小白：。。。。。。在哪里？我没看不见
黑客：打开你的任务管理器
小白：。。。。。。。任务管理器在哪？
黑客：。。。。。你的电脑下面！！
小白：”我的电脑”里面没有啊
黑客：算了，当我什么也没做过

黑客：我已经控制了你的电脑
小白：哦
黑客：害怕了吧？！嘿嘿
小白：来的正好，帮我杀杀毒吧，最近我的机子毛病很多耶
黑客：。。。。。。

小白：你怎么总是在我电脑里随便进进出出
黑客：你可以装防火墙
小白：装防火墙，你就不能进入了吗？
黑客：不啊，我只是想增加点趣味性，这样控制你的电脑让我觉得很白痴耶

小白：听说你会制造”病毒”？！
黑客：嗯
小白：你可以控制别人的电脑？！
黑客：一般是的
小白：那你可以黑掉那些网站吗？
黑客：当然，没听到人家叫我”黑客”吗？
小白：。。。。哦~~~`我还以为那是因为你长得很黑。。。。。
“咣~~”

黑客：我又来了！！
小白：你天天进来，不觉得很烦吗？
黑客：是很烦，你的机子是我见过的最烂的一台了
小白：不是吧，这可是名牌
黑客：我是说你的机子里除了弱智游戏就只有病毒了
小白：哦~~那你看到我的”连连看”了吗，不记得装在哪，找了好久了耶
黑客：。。。。。再见

黑客：嗨~~~我来了！
小白：好几天不见你，被我的防火墙挡住啦？
黑客：哈哈，笑话，上你的机子比我自己的还容易，不是想我了吧
小白：我是想请你帮一个忙
黑客：什么事？
小白：你能不能进入电力系统修改一点数据
黑客：。。。。。。你想干嘛！！
小白：求求你，帮我把我家这个月的电费消了吧。。。。。。
黑客：去死！！

黑客：你死哪去了？！！！
小白：。。。。出去玩了几天啊，找我干嘛
黑客：我要找点东西
小白：在我这儿找什么东西？
黑客：病毒，找一条前几年的老病毒，只有你的机子上病毒保存的最全啦

黑客：我来了！！
。。。。。。
黑客：怎么不说话？
小白：心情不好
黑客：谁欺负你了？
小白：我的一个Q号搞丢了，里面有我的网上初恋
黑客：这个简单，我帮你拿回来
小白：拿不回来了
黑客：不可能，告诉我，多少号？
小白：呜~~~~就是不记得了

小白：你给我出来！！！！
黑客：怎么啦？！
小白：你是不是用我的ID去论坛玩了？！！
黑客：。。。。不好意思，忘了告诉你了，不过，我没干坏事，就瞎编了个贴子，我保证下次再也不玩了
小白：那不行！！！
黑客：你还要怎么样？
小白：你发的贴子得红脸了耶，我第一次得红脸，好开心哦，你必须再给我编一个
黑客：倒！

黑客：嘿嘿，刚才我做了一件很有趣的事
小白：什么事
黑客：我到论坛上去顶贴了
小白：这很平常啊
黑客：我见贴就顶，尽情的骂楼主是猪，好解气
小白：哇塞，太过瘾了，我可从来不敢，会被封杀的！
黑客：没错，已经被封杀了。
小白：这还有趣？！
黑客：是啊，因为我用的是你的ID

小白：你是高手吗？
黑客：可以说是吧。
小白：高到什么程度？
黑客：嗯，我无聊的时候就自己黑自己
小白：哈，这个我也会！
黑客：#￥%！你也可以？！
小白：是啊，一关机它就黑了。。。。。
黑客：滚！

Tags - 黑客,白痴 ]]> http://www.axxp.com/read.php?44 admin <admin@yourname.com> Sat, 05 Apr 2008 03:22:20 +0000 http://www.axxp.com/read.php?44 身边有一些男孩女孩，总是将自己打扮成那种标准的脑残梳妆，并且美其名曰：非主流，

非主流的打扮是很夸张很过分很个性很张扬很脑残的。


先说女的--

真的，比如裤子，好好的裤子你按照正常的比例和尺寸穿不好么？非要弄那么长的裆，

我都纳了闷了，难道你两腿中间还放东西吗？是下边有黄瓜还是有香蕉，或者是“神奇之筒”？

再说脸上，浓妆艳抹，弄的跟旧社会妓院的老鸨子似的，或者还不如她！

你们在鼻子上打窟窿弄鼻环装牛魔王，但是你们在耳朵上打上20多个洞装什么呢？嘴下边，舌头上，肚脐上，

我靠！是不是你们觉得身上的洞越多越牛？是不是觉得只要是半残的就是美的？

整天玩的很Hi，今天在J5里和这个人骂骂，明天去踩踩那个人，

你们知道不知道钱是什么东西，难道你们父母创造的剩余价值是让你们买那些骂人的喇叭和虚拟的衣服？

为了能在游戏里有个人罩你，你能千里送逼，附带开房再送避孕套，我靠，你是不是很贱？

一碗沙锅米线，一瓶可乐你就能和人家上床，干过了叫人家给你J5里买套衣服，

我靠，洗头房小姐都比你高贵知道不？

该上课的时候不好好上课，逃出来上网，夜不归宿，白天睡网吧，晚上啃包方便面找个瓶子到厕所接点水喝了继续通宵。

我靠……你是不是觉得这样的生活很好？

家里不给钱就出来跟这个哥哥玩玩，那个哥哥睡睡，叫人拔出JJ就走了，

然后到网吧用那30几万像素的摄像头弄张45度的照片，写上个我的生活很颓废，我的爱情很受伤，

我问问你，什么是爱情，难道爱情就是**吗？

既然知道生活很颓废，为什么还要继续这样颓废的生活呢？

好好的中国汉字，叫你们整出个什么火星文儿，敢问中国字认全了么？

自己的祖国不热爱，自己的祖先不祭拜，自己的宗教不信仰，

我靠，你去哈日哈韩哈英哈美，你有资格么？

唐诗三百首会背了么？中国历史上有名的文化人物和诸子百家经典学说你知道么？

战国7雄和春秋5霸你知道都是谁么？中国十大古曲你能说出来几个？

英文只知道“法克觅”吧？日语就会“亚麻跌”吧？韩国话是不是就会“擦浪游”？

天天对住个钉到十字架上的鸟人叫着：我的父啊~

我靠……嫩黄皮肤黑眼睛，他白皮肤蓝眼睛，他能是嫩爹嫩祖宗？

嫩在厕所接水喝的时候，嫩的父咋没来给你送杯水啊？

接着说男孩--

中国男人的美在那里？帅在那里？是整洁！正气！阳光！阳刚！博学！幽默！有责任感！

你看看你们：整天死到女人B里了都快！这么大的人了，还给自己弄的奶里奶气的，嘴里擒个奶嘴，脖子里挂个狗牌儿，

我靠。。。你还小啊？断奶没？好好的头发，你说你弄个偏分、弄个短碎，显得小伙子又干净又利落的

你看看你那爆炸头，要不都是鬓角长的跟吊毛的，这样真的很美很好看？

说句不好听的，就你那熊样儿迟早脑袋上得叫人给拍砖，到时伤口都不好处理！

拿着爹妈的血汗钱你就可劲造吧！我靠！你是真的很有本事？

接着说全体非主流--

你们要是真喜欢真喜欢网游就去玩点儿有技术含量的：魔兽，CS，蜀山，征途啥的，没准儿还能真玩儿出个名堂挣点儿钱。

玩屁J5啊？就那几个键，按过来按过去。。。。靠！你知道不知道这样最毁键盘了？

还有事某事就踩，踩不过就开始骂。。。中国的国骂都是被你们这帮脑残给丰富和壮大的知道不？

不知道你们在用自己父母的血汗钱换来的喇叭互相问候对方父母的生殖器的时候，有没有想到你们的父母的钱来的不容易？有没有为自己的未来去担心？知道不知道什么是通货膨胀和房价上涨了几个百分点？

再说说你们所谓的爱情——

什么是爱情？爱情是男女双方互相之间有好感，双方互相了解，互相信任，互相关心，互相爱护，互相忠诚，这就是爱情！

而你们呢？未曾谋面，或者在QQ视频上看到了爆炸头下边的半拉脸，嘴还撅着，还化着妆，

好，就开始老公老婆了，再接着就是开房靠，然后就是发现对方身上的毛病以后，或者是又在J5里有别的老公了，

立刻分手，接着男的是女的哥哥了，什么时候想要了，女的就过去了又靠!

女的列，今天和这个老公做，明天和那个哥哥做，后天和这个弟弟做。。。

还弄个JBTT裙围在身上拍个PP，叫天下人都看看你多YD！

男的列，糟蹋女孩，玩过就甩，然后开始炫耀自己多NB(牛。。。)又上了个妞啥的。。。。

也不知道嫩祖宗倒啥霉了养个你这样的缺德子孙！

一个女孩，好好穿个正规长度的裙子或者裤子上衣，合理的弄些首饰来修饰自己，说话办事文文气气的，淑女点不好么？！

一个男孩，给自己弄的整齐一点，博学一点，不更能吸引女孩子的目光，并给爱情一个良好的土壤么，阳光一点难道不是美么？！

俗话说听人劝吃饱饭，给头发剃利落了，衣服穿好了，脸洗干净了，好好上学或者好好学门手艺吧，因为你们都是祖国未来的希望，父母再有本事不可能罩着你们一辈子。

中国男人没有吃软饭的传统，中国男人历来都是有责任的，有良知的，有毅力的！

我们的祖先创造了悠久灿烂的文化，我们的父辈创造了举世瞩目的奇迹，我们的国家正在重新迈向世界之巅！

身为中国人，你们都应该感到自豪！

醒醒吧！我的兄弟姐妹们

Tags - 非主流，主流 ]]> http://www.axxp.com/read.php?43 admin <admin@yourname.com> Sun, 06 Jan 2008 01:03:21 +0000 http://www.axxp.com/read.php?43
ICQ is a personal communication tool that allows users to meet and interact through instant messaging services such as text, voice, video and VoIP as well as various entertainment and community products.

Tags - icq ]]> http://www.axxp.com/read.php?42 admin <admin@yourname.com> Thu, 03 Jan 2008 07:24:56 +0000 http://www.axxp.com/read.php?42 "Happy New Year!" That greeting will be said and heard for at least the first couple of weeks as a new year gets under way. But the day celebrated as New Year's Day in modern America was not always January 1.
ANCIENT NEW YEARS
The celebration of the new year is the oldest of all holidays. It was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago. In the years around 2000 BC, the Babylonian New Year began with the first New Moon (actually the first visible cresent) after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring).

The beginning of spring is a logical time to start a new year. After all, it is the season of rebirth, of planting new crops, and of blossoming. January 1, on the other hand, has no astronomical nor agricultural significance. It is purely arbitrary.

The Babylonian new year celebration lasted for eleven days. Each day had its own particular mode of celebration, but it is safe to say that modern New Year's Eve festivities pale in comparison.

The Romans continued to observe the new year in late March, but their calendar was continually tampered with by various emperors so that the calendar soon became out of synchronization with the sun.

In order to set the calendar right, the Roman senate, in 153 BC, declared January 1 to be the beginning of the new year. But tampering continued until Julius Caesar, in 46 BC, established what has come to be known as the Julian Calendar. It again established January 1 as the new year. But in order to synchronize the calendar with the sun, Caesar had to let the previous year drag on for 445 days.

THE CHURCH'S VIEW OF NEW YEAR CELEBRATIONS
Although in the first centuries AD the Romans continued celebrating the new year, the early Catholic Church condemned the festivities as paganism. But as Christianity became more widespread, the early church began having its own religious observances concurrently with many of the pagan celebrations, and New Year's Day was no different. New Years is still observed as the Feast of Christ's Circumcision by some denominations.


During the Middle Ages, the Church remained opposed to celebrating New Years. January 1 has been celebrated as a holiday by Western nations for only about the past 400 years.

NEW YEAR TRADITIONS
Other traditions of the season include the making of New Year's resolutions. That tradition also dates back to the early Babylonians. Popular modern resolutions might include the promise to lose weight or quit smoking. The early Babylonian's most popular resolution was to return borrowed farm equipment.

The Tournament of Roses Parade dates back to 1886. In that year, members of the Valley Hunt Club decorated their carriages with flowers. It celebrated the ripening of the orange crop in California.

Although the Rose Bowl football game was first played as a part of the Tournament of Roses in 1902, it was replaced by Roman chariot races the following year. In 1916, the football game returned as the sports centerpiece of the festival.

The tradition of using a baby to signify the new year was begun in Greece around 600 BC. It was their tradition at that time to celebrate their god of wine, Dionysus, by parading a baby in a basket, representing the annual rebirth of that god as the spirit of fertility. Early Egyptians also used a baby as a symbol of rebirth.

Although the early Christians denounced the practice as pagan, the popularity of the baby as a symbol of rebirth forced the Church to reevaluate its position. The Church finally allowed its members to celebrate the new year with a baby, which was to symbolize the birth of the baby Jesus.

The use of an image of a baby with a New Years banner as a symbolic representation of the new year was brought to early America by the Germans. They had used the effigy since the fourteenth century.

FOR LUCK IN THE NEW YEAR
Traditionally, it was thought that one could affect the luck they would have throughout the coming year by what they did or ate on the first day of the year. For that reason, it has become common for folks to celebrate the first few minutes of a brand new year in the company of family and friends. Parties often last into the middle of the night after the ringing in of a new year. It was once believed that the first visitor on New Year's Day would bring either good luck or bad luck the rest of the year. It was particularly lucky if that visitor happened to be a tall dark-haired man.

Traditional New Year foods are also thought to bring luck. Many cultures believe that anything in the shape of a ring is good luck, because it symbolizes "coming full circle," completing a year's cycle. For that reason, the Dutch believe that eating donuts on New Year's Day will bring good fortune.

Many parts of the U.S. celebrate the new year by consuming black-eyed peas. These legumes are typically accompanied by either hog jowls or ham. Black-eyed peas and other legumes have been considered good luck in many cultures. The hog, and thus its meat, is considered lucky because it symbolizes prosperity. Cabbage is another "good luck" vegetable that is consumed on New Year's Day by many. Cabbage leaves are also considered a sign of prosperity, being representative of paper currency. In some regions, rice is a lucky food that is eaten on New Year's Day.

Tags - it's , another , new , year... ]]>