Hello and welcome to the VOA Learning English programWords and Their Stories.Everyone around the worldcelebrates the New Year differently and at different times.Most people in the U.S. celebrate it on January 1.But they may also observe New Year traditionsfrom other religions or cultures.For example, many Asian cultures celebrate the Lunar New Year.This date changes from year to year.The date of the Islamic New Year also changes from year to year.And in India, each religious grouphas its own date for the beginning of the year.For example, the Hindu New Year comes in April or May.No matter when you celebrate the New Year,it usually involves thinking about the past yearand planning for the year ahead.People have many different ways of ringing out the oldand ringing in the new.But why are bells linked to the calendar change?In the Christian and Buddhist religions,bells are often connected with the New Year.The website CatholicCulture.org explainsthat "bells serve as a beautiful symbol introducing a new yearto be spent together as a community of families ..."Another website describes how bells are used in Japan on New Year's Eve."As midnight approaches, Buddhist temples around the countrybegin ringing out the old year, sounding the temple bell 108 times."Each ring of the bell stands for each of the earthly desiresa Buddhist must try to overcome -- all 108 of them!Even those who aren't religious but are a little superstitious,may ring bells at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve to scare off bad luck.These age-old traditions have given us the phrase"to ring out the old and ring in the new."The English poet Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)made the phrase popular with his poem"In Memoriam ."In this poem, Tennyson rings out, or says farewell to, the bad,and he rings in, or says hello, to the good.Tennyson wrote this poem for Arthur Henry Hallam.The two students met at Cambridge Universityand quickly became best friends,both showing great promise as writers.Hallam helped Tennyson publish volumes of his poetry in 1830 and 1832.The friends almost became familywhen Hallam became engaged to the poet's sister, Emily.However, before they could wed,Hallam died of a brain hemorrhage.He was only twenty-two years old.To remember his good friend,Tennyson wrote the poem "In Memoriam."He also named one of his two sons Hallam.Here is Jonathan Evans reading the first part of that poem.Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,The flying cloud, the frosty light:The year is dying in the night;Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.Ring out the old, ring in the new,Ring, happy bells, across the snow:The year is going, let him go;Ring out the false, ring in the true.Ring out the grief that saps the mindFor those that here we see no more;Ring out the feud of rich and poor,Ring in redress to all mankind.Ring out a slowly dying cause,And ancient forms of party strife;Ring in the nobler modes of life,With sweeter manners, purer laws.Thanks, Jonathan.And thank you, our listeners,for the time you have spent reading and listeningto Words and Their Stories these past twelve months.We here at VOA Learning Englishwish all of you a happy start to the New Year.For the New Year,what do you plan to ring in?Also in the coming New Year,what words, expressions or phraseswould you like to learn more about?Let us know in the Comments Sections.All of those who are hither and yonderWith love in our heartsWe grow fonder and fonderHail to those who we hold so dearAnd hail to those who are gathered hereAnd a happy new year to all that is livingTo all that is gentle, young, and forgiving