‘Ring in’ the New Year!

Today, one of my friends asks:

My friend wrote me an email saying:  “It was fun to ring in the new year.” What does it mean the word “ring” in this sentence mean? 

MY ANSWER:

Good question! Let’s look at the phrase ‘ring in’.

To understand this phrase, let’s look at some history of celebrations.

In many countries, most local churches used to have a bell in a tower. These days many new churches do not have bell towers, but older churches almost always do.

The bell was used like a clock for the local community. For example, the bell would be rung to remind people that it was time to go to church!

The bell was also rung on special occasions and events. One of those events was the start of the new year – midnight on January 1st.

So many people would know it was the new year, because they would hear the church bell ringing. 

So today, we still say ‘ring in’ the New Year!

EXAMPLES:
Let’s ring in the New Year together.  =  Let’s celebrate New Years eve together.

I had a great time ringing in the New Year.  =  I had a great time celebrating New Years eve.

QUESTION:

How did you ring in 2009?