“The New Year is almost here. What does the New Year mean to you? How did you celebrate it as a child and now as an adult?”

My dear grandchildren, there are two issues in this matter; the first question is, “The New Year is almost here and What does the New Year mean to you?

For me the New Year is 365 days a year and in my whole life; as in mine so also in all of God’s human beings. That is why the New Year is the beginning of a year of 365 days. The New Year obliges every human being to start calculating what needs to be done well for the whole year, pray to God, live honestly, be a good friend and have a good relationship with everyone, work hard to live modern and good, save well and spend moderately, etc. What I have written here now is a memory from my parents. On New Year’s Eve, every year my parents, especially my father Patar, would talk during the meal about a plan for the whole year of what we need to do. Father would always point out, saying we need to work harder this year to have more than last year. As a child then, I remember that now, as I write this on December 23, 2021.

And as for celebrating the New Year, it should be viewed from the reflection of that time. At that time, I did not have the opportunity to celebrate the New Year as it is celebrated today in modern times. A few of us friends of the same age would agree to celebrate the New Year together, hidden somewhere, in a basement or barn and without the knowledge of others. We would agree on what each of us will bring to eat and drink, but everything is hidden so that the parents don’t know anything about it. Otherwise the parents would be against it. Everything must be a big secret. I would bring a demijohn of wine while others would bring a variety of meats, prosciutto, sausages, salami and bread. Everything was beautiful, cheerful, good and under great secrecy until we got drunk. Then we started singing, screaming, shouting and congratulating each other on the New Year. Our noise woke up some neighbors and these woke up others who came to see what was going on. At first they started criticizing us and finally they joined us to continue celebrating the New Year with us.

And now as an adult I can say that I am bound by my life memories which throughout my life I have had from my childhood experience that I carry from my village Bobanova Draga where I was born to Paris and from Paris to San Francisco and from San Francisco to Texas . And through all these life journeys I have not forgotten the importance of the meaning of the New Year. For the New Year is the beginning of a year of 365 days as the first day of the birth of every divine being is the beginning of his or her life.

My dear grandchildren and all your friends, that is why your grandfather “Babu ” always paid great attention to the New Year’s Day. Almost every year I celebrate New Year’s Eve with my friends at my house. (for illustration I am enclosing some pictures of New Year’s Eve Reception at Mile and Annie’s Boban house dec. 31 2015.)

It has been so since the beginning of the world and will be so until the end of the world. Some will live poor to die rich, while others will live rich to die poor, knowing that they will not take anything with them to another world. And taking into account every life experience, one undoubtedly comes to the conclusion that we, every God being, trace our life path more according to our life experience than from school desks. As an adult, I have always wanted to be in the company of my friends, knowing that the more I am with my good friends the less isolated I am, the less isolated I am, the more satisfied I am. That is why we celebrate the New Year as a day of joy, satisfaction, enjoyment, and a day of great HOPE.

Your eternal grandfather “Babu” Mile Boban.

——————————————————————————————————

                Ovo je moje osamnaesti (18) opis mojim unucima.
Naslov je:

“Nova godina je skoro tu. Što vam znači Nova godina? Kako ste je dočekali kao dijete, a sada kao odrasla osoba?”

Dragi moji unuci, po ovom pitanju postoje dva pitanja; prvo pitanje je: “Nova godina je skoro tu i što vam znači Nova godina?

Za mene je Nova godina 365 dana u godini i u cijelom životu; kako u mom tako i u svim Božjim ljudskim bićima. Zato je Nova Godina početak godine od 365 dana. Nova godina obvezuje svakog čovjeka da počne kalkulirati što treba dobro raditi za cijelu godinu, moliti se Bogu, živjeti pošteno, biti dobar prijatelj i imati dobar odnos sa svima, truditi se živjeti moderno i dobro, dobro štedjeti i umjereno trošiti itd. Ovo što sam sada ovdje napisao je uspomena mojih roditelja. Na Staru godinu, svake godine moji roditelji, posebno moj otac Patar, za vrijeme obroka bi pričali o planu za cijelu godinu što trebamo učiniti. Otac bi uvijek isticao, govoreći da ove godine trebamo više raditi da bismo imali više nego što smo imali prošle godine. Tada ao dijete još se uvijek toga sjećam i sada, dok ovo pišem 23.12.2021.

A što se tiče proslave Nove godine, to treba promatrati iz odraza tog vremena. U to vrijeme nisam imao priliku dočekati Novu Godinu kako se danas slavi u moderno doba. Nas nekoliko prijatelja istih godina dogovorili bi se zajedno dočekati Novu godinu, skriveni negdje, u podrumu ili staji i bez znanja drugih. Dogovorili bismo se što će svatko od nas donijeti za jelo i piće, ali sve se krije da naši roditelja ne znaju ništa o tome. Inače bi roditelji bili protiv toga. Sve mora biti velika tajna. Ja bih donio demižon vina dok bi drugi donijeli razno meso, pršuta, kobasice, salame i kruha. Sve je bilo lijepo, veselo, dobro i pod velikom tajnom dok se nismo napili. Tada smo počeli pjevati, vrištati, vikati i čestitati si Novu Godinu. Naša buka probudila je neke susjede, a ovi su probudili druge koji su došli vidjeti što se događa. Isprva su nas počeli kritizirati, a na kraju su nam se pridružili kako bi nastavili s nama dočekati Novu godinu.

I sada kao odrasla osoba mogu vam reći da me vežu životna sjećanja koja sam kroz život imao iz iskustva i iz mojeg djetinjstva kojeg nosim iz mog sela Bobanova Draga u kojem sam rođen pa sve do Pariza i od Pariza do San Francisca i iz San Francisca u Teksas. I kroz sva ta životna putovanja nisam zaboravio važnost značenja Nove godine. Jer, Nova Godina je početak godine od 365 dana kao što je prvi dan rođenja svakog božanskog bića početak njegovog ili njezinog života.

Dragi moji unuci i svi vaši prijatelji, zato je vaš djed “Babu” Milan uvijek posvećivao veliku pažnju dočeku Nove Godine. Gotovo svake godine Novu godinu slavim sa prijateljima u svojoj kući.