Elizabeth "Betsy" Ross, née Griscom, was born January 1, 1752. The story that she created the first American flag dates from the 1870s from a member of her family. But although the story is legendary, she did sew many American flags for the Pennsylvania Navy and other branches of the military.
Here's someone I just learned about this fall. Born January 1, 1714, Kristijonas Donelaitis was a Lutheran pastor who served in the area of Prussia called Lithuania Minor. He wrote a long poem called "Metai" ("The Seasons") which is the first Lithuanian poem to use hexameters--the metrical line found in Classical Latin and Greek poetry. "The Seasons" tells of the lives of serfs and the countryside, and was the first Lithuanian poem appreciated outside that country (although at first in a German translation). He also wrote a series of fables in verse, "Pričkaus pasaka apie lietuvišką svodbą" (“Pričkus’ Tale about a Lithuanian Wedding”). His life and work have been subjects of Lithuanian music.
The Priestly Blessing (birkat kohanim) seems like a lovely blessing with which to start the new year. If I were Jewish and surnamed Cohen, I would be trusted to give the benediction in the synagogue service. The blessing comes from Numbers (in proximity to the Promised Land but before the people's second-guessing about God's instructions that resulted in their forty-year sojourn). The high priest Aaron blessed the people, and the Lord promised to bless the priests who serve the people. The blessing is also called raising of the hands (nesiat kapayim). In synagogues, today, Kohanim (descendants of Aaron) raise hands and offer the blessing. I need to ask one of my rabbi friends to explain more about all this to me: interesting! Of course, Christianity adopts so many ideas, scriptures, and traditions of the Jewish scriptures and reconfigures them. Many Christian churches have adopted the blessing as a benediction, ending the worship service.
