Auld Lang Syne?

Ever wonder what the famous New Year's Song meant? Thanks to Lisa Gache from
Beverly Hills Manners has some insight.


The words to "Auld Lang Syne" are pretty obscure to most of us, yet we sing them with pride on New Year's Eve. The Scottish phrase literally translates to 'Old Long Ago' and encourages us to think about days passed. The lyrics also refer to kindness ('We'll take a Cup of Kindness yet') and conjure up positive images of everyone getting along and creating a happy future.

These final days of 2009 are perfect for taking stock of the past. Reviewing our good deeds and our not so good deeds. Who we wronged and who we helped. Who we slighted and who we were generous towards. Were we kind or were we cruel? Did we cheat ourselves out of an experience or did we try our best? What were the ramifications of our actions? Did it serve us or did it do us a disservice? This is all good information to ponder before ringing in a new year.

So before New Year's Eve approaches, sit down and write a list of resolutions for yourself. Then add a list of manners resolutions. These can be purely aspirational because, after all, we are human and make mistakes. The important part is to focus on being more aware and trying to change. Below I have compiled a list of manners resolutions that I aspire to live by. Feel free to use these as a starting point or as your complete guide.

Finally, stop thinking of manners as some dated, dusty set of rules from days long ago. Manners never get old, they are never out of style and they are never irrelevant. On the contrary, manners are insanely important and frankly they are a nice change from the salacious, gratituous, frivilous world we live in today. So embrace your new manners in 2010!!!