Hi friends! I hope you are enjoying a wonderful holiday season! I’m thrilled to be closing 2023 with a lovely visit from author Riana Everly! 

As you may remember from last month, Riana has a new contemporary Austen series she is publishing. And now 2 out 3 of the books are available. 

Riana is here to talk about New Year’s traditions, Emma, and her new book – The Matchmaker’s Melody. We hope you enjoy!

Happy New Year! Traditions from Around the World

Thank you, Meredith, for letting me stop by your amazing blog as part of my short blog tour for The Matchmaker’s Melody, my newest release. We’ll get to Emma later, but for now something else is on my mind.

It seems almost impossible that it’s the end of December already, and yet the calendar doesn’t lie. Injust a few short days it will be 2024, and hopefully the new year will bring everything good to all of us.

With Christmas just behind us, and with all the traditions and customs associated with that holiday, history-nerd me has been thinking about New Year’s traditions as well. Here’s a very short dive into some customs, new and old, from around the world.

🎆  The Mesopotamians were the first people to celebrate the new year, about 4000 years ago. That’s a lot of party hats! The Romans, under Julius Caesar, proclaimed January 1 to be the first day of the new year in 46BCE.

🍾   Ancient China began celebrating the new year during the Shang Dynasty, over 3000 years ago. Their new year occurred at the beginning of the spring planting season, after the darkness and dangers of winter.

🎆  Britain switched from the Julian to the Gregorian calendar in 1752, which involved advancing the calendar by 11 days to align with the calendar used on the continent. Wednesday, September 2 was followed by Thursday, September 14. Surprise! Consequently, January 1, 1753 came earlier than some people expected, and for a long time, people still celebrated Christmas and New Year on the “old” dates.

🍾  Auld Lang Syne was written by Scottish poet Robbie Burns in 1788, and published in a collection in 1796. By 1799, it was already popular and commonly sung to a folk song, which is the tune we know it by today.

🎆  In Georgian and Regency England, some people would clean the house thoroughly on New Year’s Eve, to sweep out the old and welcome the new year. But other families would not clean on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day, for fear of washing away all good luck for the year.

🍾   The Scottish tradition of First Footing is still observed on Hogmanay (the last day of the old year), where the first newcomer to enter the house after midnight on January 1 foretells how the year will go. For the best luck, you want a tall, dark-haired man, bearing whisky and other gifts. Works for me! Hogmanay is also celebrated with parades, flaming torches, fireworks, and oh yes, whisky!

🎆  Eating greens on New Year’s is another popular custom in various parts of the world. If you’re from the southern US, you probably know all about this!

🍾   A newer tradition is the dropping of the New Year Ball in Times Square in New York City. The ball starts its slow descent about 1 minute to midnight and touches the ground at 12:00 midnight exactly. This annual event is televised and watched around the world.

Of course, this little list barely scratches the surface. What traditions do you have, or know about? I’d love to hear about them all in the comments.

So, what about my new book? I’ve had so much fun writing about a modern Emma, with her choir and her career as a social media influencer. And, of course, her matchmaking misadventures!

Here is a short excerpt from The Matchmaker’s Melody. This is the second of three books in the musical Austen Echoes series, and is a contemporary improvisation on Emma. In this excerpt, Gordon (my modern Mr Knightley) has invited Emma to a New Year’s Eve party at the house of some friends, and, well… something might be happening!

***

The party was in full swing when they arrived. Gordon introduced her to Rakesh and his wife, Samira. Rakesh offered the usual handshake and words of welcome, but Samira took one glance and gasped.

“Emma? Emma Massey? The Emma Massey? #JustAskEmma? Oh my God! This is so exciting. Gordon never said he was bringing someone famous. Can I take a photo? Do you mind? You probably hate this, don’t you? Tell me to stop, but if you don’t mind…” She pulled at her husband’s arm. “Do you know who this is?”

How could Emma do anything but beam? She loved being in the spotlight. “I’m happy for photos. Would you mind if I take a peek before you post? Just to make sure we both look gorgeous. Your dress is so lovely, I’ll fade into nothing next to it. Let’s find a spot. Maybe Gordon can be the photographer.”

She didn’t quite understand the odd expression on Gordon’s face as he wielded his phone, snapping half a dozen images, and then five or six more with her suggestions, but he seemed happy enough. Good. She didn’t want to get into another awkward discussion with him. … She didn’t like arguing with him. His good opinion, for some reason, meant a lot to her, more than anyone else’s ever had.

The party was nicer than she’d expected. Many of the guests were people from Gordon’s work, and they were surprisingly not boring. Samira had a group of her friends and co-workers there as well, and for a few minutes Emma was surrounded with adoring fans, which always pleased her. She’d have more than a few photos for her Instagram feed for the next day, and everyone was dressed up enough that her followers would feel deprived at not being invited to such an haute, exclusive event.

“Eating up the attention?” Gordon came up beside her, a glass of wine in hand. Emma had one as well, although she’d taken only two or three sips all evening. Her image did not include getting drunk, thank you very much.

She smiled at him. “I just try to help people. If they like me enough to call me a celebrity, I’m happy with that.”

The lights were dimmed part way, and some people were swaying to the soft music that cushioned the air. It was getting close to midnight, perhaps ten minutes to go. “Will you dance with me?” he asked.

Emma put down her glass, then took his hand to pull him to the space their hosts had cleared in the centre of the room. “I think I can manage that.”

It felt good to be in his arms as they traced a slow waltz in the cosy area. Frank Sinatra crooned from a speaker somewhere, and the air seemed almost golden, like something from a mushy movie. It was a piece she knew and she hummed along, her lips near Gordon’s ear. She wasn’t surprised when he started singing as well, just loud enough for her to hear, and it seemed perfectly normal when he pulled her closer still, so her breasts pressed against his chest and she could feel his heart beat beneath his elegant suit.

And it didn’t seem strange at all when, as the lights dimmed further still and the music gave way to the ten-second countdown to midnight, he gazed into her eyes with that same strange expression, asking a question she now knew she could answer.

Almost without thought, and with no regard to the consequences, she reached up a bit with her head and pressed a kiss to his lips just as the clock chimed twelve.

***

I wish you all the very best of 2024. Happy New Year.

🥰 Swoon. Now that is a wonderful way to start the new year!  What a romantic scene. Emma is so lucky. 😜  I cannot wait to see more of Emma and Gordon together. I’m invested in their story already. 

The Matchmaker’s Melody is available at Amazon, and is free to read on KU

~ And you can check out and pre-order the rest of the series here ~

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~ Connect with Riana ~

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~ About Riana ~

Born in South Africa, award-winning author Riana Everly has called Canada home since she was eight years old. She proudly boasts one husband, two grown(ish) children, three degrees, four recordings, five instruments (of varying proficiencies), six languages (also of varying proficiencies), and ten novels (and growing). She also can’t count very well.

When not indulging her passion for Jane Austen, Riana loves cooking, travel, and photography. She’s a historian and trained classical musician, specialising in viola, and is delighted to be able to combine her love of writing and music in her novels.

She now lives in Toronto, Canada, with her husband, a secret stash of chocolate, and far too many books.

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GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

In conjunction with her visit, Riana is giving away an ebook copy of The Matchmaker’s Melody to 1️⃣ lucky reader!

 

To enter this giveaway leave a question, comment, or some love for Riana! Or share a New Year’s tradition you celebrate or have heard of.

• This giveaway is open worldwide.  Thank you, Riana!
• This giveaway ends January 1st!