ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 31, 1995 TAG: 9512290096
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: WENDY LIN NEWSDAY
It's a quarter to midnight and you've just uncorked a bottle of the bubbly.
The glasses are filled and everyone is poised. Suddenly, all eyes turn to you for the toast.
No matter how many new years we've rung in, we never seem to be prepared when the annual ritual arrives. We flub the toast, forget the hors d'oeuvres in the oven and fumble with the champagne bottle. You could go to bed by 9, or you could take heart.
Here we give you some advice on how to maneuver the New Year's Eve ritual - what to say when the clock strikes 12.
For some, giving a toast may be the most harrowing part of the holiday, or, for that matter, any other occasion worth celebrating, but it needn't be. Even if you're completely at a loss for words, you can raise your glass and simply say, ``Cheers!'' and be done with it.
But keep in mind that you're toasting a special opportunity. It provides you with an excuse to remind your family, friends, co-workers or whoever is gathered with you, how much you value them.
A good toast, like a good champagne, makes everyone feel warm inside. It can heal wounds, draw old friends nearer and sometimes bring a tear to the eye. In biblical times, ritual blessings were performed over wine. In ancient China, poets composed verses that were recited over dips of rice wine.
The word ``toast'' is said to have originated with the custom of adding a piece of toast to a drink to give it flavor. One story has it that the toast was born in ancient Bath when an admirer of a famous beauty who was bathing took a sip of her bath water and drank to her health. An admirer was reputed to have said, ``I do not like the liquor too much, but I should love to have the toast,'' the toast being the beautiful bather.
Such eloquence would suit Amy Vanderbilt, who declared that toasts should be ``either amusing or touching,'' and never embarrassing.
Emily Post warned that non-drinkers should not turn their glasses upside down, but raise empty ones instead. And, you must stand when everyone else does for a toast.
Others versed in the art of toasting have their own tips to ensure your success. ``I like to make it personal, right from the heart,'' said Dick Ward, president of the Great Neck (N.Y.) Toastmaster's Club, an organization that teaches its members extemporaneous speaking.
If you're at a company party in a business where there have been a lot of changes, ``mention how great it is so many of us are here,'' said Eveleine Kennedy, president of a Long Island Toastmaster chapter called the Babylon Babblers. ``If this is a club where there are a lot of new faces, mention it.''
Start by getting your audience's attention. If you're in a crowd, go up to the microphone. If you're at a sit-down dinner, Kennedy said, stand up. ``It depends on the crowd, but generally speaking, you're going to find that most people will quiet down. If need be, clink your glasses.''
State your intentions. Unless there are speeches going on, people won't know what you want until you say, ``I'd like to propose a toast.''
Address your audience specifically. Ask yourself: Who are the people in attendance? What is the common bond that brought them together? ``If you're toasting the whole group, make the whole group know that they're being toasted,'' Kennedy said.
Say, ``I'd like to propose a toast to the 22 of us who work in the data processing department,'' or ``Here we are, Jack and Audrey's friends and neighbors,'' or ``The six of us fraternity brothers are gathered here again to ring in the New Year.''
Then talk about the year past and your hopes for the coming new year. The key, experts say, is knowing your audience. ``You can't propose a toast to the bride and groom without knowing the couple,'' Kennedy said.
Finally, remember that a toast shouldn't be more than about one minute.
When words fail you ...
If all else fails, you can clip this and read one of these toasts as you lift your glass:
Here's to eternity. May we spend it in as good company as this night finds us.
May our feast days be many and our fast days be few.
Here's to our best friends, who know the worst about us but refuse to believe it.
May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night, and the road downhill all the way to your door. (Irish blessing)
Be at war with your voices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man. (Benjamin Franklin)
In the new year, may your right hand always be stretched out in friendship, but never in want.
May our house be too small to hold all our friends.
May we always be as bubbly as this champagne.
May we have a few real friends rather than a thousand acquaintances.
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