Lung Specialists lead 2021 promises and hope for the coming year. This is the year when everything turns around? At least we at FLASS hope so. Without regret, most of us will gladly leave 2020 behind, the year of COVID-19, with its masks and restrictions.
So, to 2020, we, as family members and lung specialists, simply say, “Good Riddance 2020” and Thank God for the hope of “Lucky 2021.” As you might have guessed this blog, deviates from our usual blog topics about lung disease news.
In this blog, we will explore certain aspects of what we call “New Year Promises” or “being lucky.” The Lung Specialists and staff of FLASS offer this little New Year’s blog article with a wink and a smile, to brighten your holiday mood.
Lung Specialists: Celebrate Hope and Promises in 2021
Vaccine and Putting Coronavirus on The Run.
Yes, many Americans and others around the world are ready to celebrate with decorations, fireworks, and parties. We’re ready to sing “Auld Lang Syne,” declare our New Year’s Resolutions and participate in all of the wonderful customs that go along with the New Year, New Hope, and New Promises.
Of course, most recognize the fact that we can’t drop the big ball in New York this year in the usual way. Most New Yorkers will only be able to view it virtually. We know we still have to exercise some caution concerning safety with the reigning world pandemic. And yet…Hope for a return to normalcy peeks at us just around the corner of 2020.
And Hope looks like a beautiful healthcare professional, for in Hope’s hand is a vaccine for COVID-19. However, even though we are not yet all vaccinated, it is totally safe for us here at FLASS to take this digital opportunity to wish all our staff, clients, friends, and associates a very Happy and Lucky 2021.
2021 Promises: New Vaccine and New Hope–For and From–Lung Specialists
On the other hand, the lung specialists of the FLASS family do feel lucky with the new COVID-19 vaccine! In the US, doctors, pharmacists, and lung specialists at every level, are distributing the life-saving vaccine even as we publish this blog.
Lung Specialists and healthcare professionals know that most vaccines take from 5 – 10 years to be developed and approved through the various health and testing programs. Yet, we have miraculously accomplished this “Warp Speed” program in less than one year.
The lung specialists at FLASS can not help but give kudos to the remarkable scientists who exhibited amazing dedication and compassion during this COVID-19 health crisis. We are indeed blessed.
Here at FLASS, we believe developing the vaccines quickly took equal parts of dedication and compassion. And that reminds us that the lung specialists at FLASS require those same qualities.
Celebrate with Plans and Resolutions
Lung Specialist and the CDC Recommend That You Party Within Your “Bubble.”
We celebrate the New Year with plans and resolutions to protect you, because you, blog readers, are part of our community, and part of our family. And we know you will do your part: Even after getting your vaccination, we know you will not forget:
- In the words of the CDC, “The safest way to celebrate winter holidays is at home with the people who live with you. Travel and gatherings with family and friends who do not live with you can increase your chances of getting or spreading COVID-19 or the flu.”
The FLASS lung specialists also remind you: If you do go away from home, be aware of the rules in the area to which you have traveled. Chances are they will be more strict than our rules here at home in Florida. You might need to comply with these basic and compassionate laws:
- Wear a Mask.
- Stay 6 Feet Apart.
- Avoid Crowds.
For more information about the vaccines specifically, the FLASS lung specialists highly recommend the Medscape online resource, updated on 12-30-20, with expert questions and answers designed to give us transparency and truth for the New Year.
And Now–On the Lighter Side: A Little Fortuitous Hope from New Year’s History and Celebrations
Did you know that celebrating the New Year has an almost 4000-year history? In fact, the celebration of the New Year is the oldest of all holidays. Ancient Babylon celebrated New Years 4000 years ago. Additionally, “The Babylonian New Year celebration lasted for eleven days.”
Wow, that’s quite a bit of celebrating. There must have been some party-goers with real regrets after that much fun. One thing that almost all celebrations have in common is hope for the future. And to guarantee that future, certain lucky traditions have developed.
“Being Lucky” or Finding 2021 Promises: Can We Improve Our Luck?
Research Plus Patient Care are Equal Partners in the Fight Against the Coronavirus.
We all are aware that “Being Lucky” basically means that good things or bad events occur to us. Of course, debates have always raged over the very existence of luck. Is good luck simply superstition or is it preparation and hard work?
Even Lung Specialists can not always be certain. However, it certainly couldn’t hurt to look at certain factors that large groups and cultures believe will bring us good fortune in 2021. They include:
- First, eating certain New Year’s Day foods might guarantee good fortune and a lucky 2021.
- Additionally, taking special customary actions at or near the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve might bring us good luck and hope for the New Year.
Two Ways to Ensure Your New Year’s fortune
New Year’s Day Food: Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise: Can what you eat on New Year’s Day really change your future? If you have doubts, you should know my mom could have educated you.
- She firmly believed that black-eyed peas, greens, and corn bread were the keys to health and wealth. And I would add that all the New Years I can remember, that is what she served. This is close to the same menu to which many southern families adhere.
One variation adds pork and rice to the black-eyed peas. This menu promises hope for the New Year. It assures you that you will “experience luck and peace for the rest of the year.”
2. In Spain and some Latin American countries, one New Year’s tradition is to eat 12 grapes. That means “one for each month of the coming year, to secure prosperity. Sounds easy?
Here’s the challenge: you need to eat one grape with each bell strike at midnight. The favored way is to take a bite, then swallow the grape halves whole. A glass of bubbly afterward might help to flush it all down.”
The Stroke of Midnight: The Right Action to Take
There are also several suggested actions that produce pleasant and hopeful results for the New Year:
- The tradition to kiss someone at midnight on New Year’s Eve is a long-standing tradition. It is said to bring luck to your love life. “Kiss someone at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve and you will have a year of luck in love.” This is the advice of writer, Joanne Wannan in her book “Kisstory: A Sweet and Sexy Look at the History of Kissing.” Your lung specialists would simply remind you to be sure that this special someone was in your bubble of COVID-19 Safety.
- Scottish culture adds a pleasant twist to this scenario. The idea is to kiss everyone in the room. (This might not be so wise, under COVID-19 restrictions, but it’s certainly something to remember.)
- Also in Denmark, people stand on their chairs and leap into January at midnight. The purpose is to bring good luck and banish bad spirits. That sounds like a good idea–just be careful! Look before you leap!
FLASS: Final Take for 2020
A Signature of Hope for 2021 – The Vaccine for COVID-19.
Here, at FLASS, we can’t guarantee these traditions of luck will keep all ill fortune away. Therefore, we recommend that you follow our recommendations for good lung health as a basis for your New, Healthy, Lucky Year 2021.
Then, you can consider some of the other traditions–just for luck. As for whether or not the superstitions of New Year’s Foods and Lucky custom bring you good fortune in Lucky 2021–Who Knows?
As Shakespeare pointed out, “There are more things in Heaven and Earth than you have dreamed of, Horatio.”
In our final remarks about New Year’s Day 2021, Hopes and Promises, the doctors, healthcare givers and staff of FLASS, the entire FLASS family add this famous meditation in regards to the New Year: