What New Year’s resolutions have you made? Do you have any New Year’s traditions? What would you do if your baby was born pregnant? Is such a thing even possible? Would you bundle your baby up and leave them out in the cold to take a nap?
January 1-8
How long have people been making New Year’s resolutions? Ancient Babylonians would vow to return farm equipment they had borrowed, so they’ve been around a long time. And returning something you had borrowed was a good way to start the year.
In 1947, a Gallup poll taken showed that resolutions were based on denying physical indulgences. People vowed to control their temper, smoke less, drink less, go to church more, etc.
Today they tend to focus more on general self-improvement such as losing weight, quitting smoking, getting organized, getting or staying healthy, etc.
What about you? What New Year’s resolutions have you made? Or do you think they’re just a waste of time?
Write a story about someone who fanatically makes a list of New Year’s resolutions every year and is determined to keep each one of them throughout the coming year. But he soon finds out that keeping them is not near as easy as he thought it would be.
January 9-15
Does your family have any special New Year’s Eve traditions? Mine doesn’t, but if yours doesn’t and you want to start one, why not try one of the following?
The tradition the Polish have sounds like a lot of fun, and it’s one that your kids would really enjoy. It is customary to jump off a chair or some other piece of furniture at midnight to bring in the New Year.
In Puerto Rico, a bucket of water is thrown out the window to drive away the evil spirits that are hanging around from the old year.
In Ireland, to chase away bad luck and evil spirits, you grab some bread (this is most likely easier to do with an entire loaf) and bang it against the wall. That is something I wouldn’t want to do with my yummy homemade bread, but this is also believed to bring you plenty of bread and other foods in the coming year.
In Turkey, you smash pomegranates to see how many seeds you can make fly out! The number of seeds that go flying is an indication of how much good luck you’ll have in the coming year.
Create a character who chooses to celebrate New Year’s Eve in one of these ways by herself or with her family. How is this crazy new way of celebrating thought of by their friends and neighbors?
January 16-22
When I first became pregnant many, many years ago (I now have four grandchildren), I thought I might be pregnant with twins because twins run in my family. I was wrong.
But never did I think that my daughter would be born pregnant with her own siblings. I never knew such a thing could happen.
From the article: “The baby’s condition, known as fetus-in-fetu, is incredibly rare, occurring in only about 1 in every 500,000 births. It’s not clear exactly why it happens.”
https://www.livescience.com/49766-baby-pregnant-twins.html
Wow. Like I said, I never knew that could happen. But it’s time to put your writer’s cap on and get to work. Write a story in which a woman gives birth to a daughter, and this daughter happens to be pregnant with her own siblings. Differ from reality here and have these fetuses develop normally and be born with the baby as their mother.
Ella’s Wool Blog
January 23-30
In Nordic countries, babies are put outside to take naps in cold temperatures. You are probably asking yourself why in the world would they do this. And once you read the article, you’ll find out that it is actually good for them.
https://www.wanderwithjo.com/why-scandinavian-parents-leave-their-babies-outside-in-the-cold-and-doctors-approve/
If you live in a place where the climate is really warm for at least most of the year, the thought of leaving your baby outside to take a nap in the cold isn’t something you would do. But what if you moved to a place where it got really cold for at least part of the year, and you discovered the benefits of doing so? Would you do it then?
Write a story about a young couple who have moved from a place where it is really warm for most of the year and then move to a place where it is much colder. They discover that putting their baby outside in the colder temperatures have major benefits for its health. Do they start doing so?
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