Well, here we are at year’s end yet again. The more years we’ve watched go by (and we’ve seen a few!) the harder it is to get enthusiastic about celebrating the event. We find ourselves stifling a yawn at the thought of another countdown to midnight and another mumbling rendition of “Auld Lang Syne.” But considering that virtually all nations, cultures, and faiths mark the occasion of the change of the year, maybe it’s worth examining the practices employed and the motivations behind New Year celebrations. Why do we do it?
Our quick internet search of the topic revealed that at the change of the year a natural focus falls upon leaving the unwanted parts of the past behind and welcoming a more desirable future. Practices that range from the frivolous to the profound have been developed to enable that positive transition to occur.
For example, in some areas of the world special foods or beverages are prepared to symbolize sought-after outcomes. In India rice is served to encourage prosperity. In Switzerland whipped cream is a new year’s treat because of its richness. Wassail is prepared and served among friends in England who drink to one another’s good health. And the pop of the champagne cork is a perennial American prelude to toasting a happy New Year.
But marking the New Year is done in a whole host of ways beyond eating and drinking. In Thailand loud noises are made to frighten off demons. The Chinese open doors and windows at midnight to allow the fresh air of the New Year to come into their homes. Danes jump off chairs to demonstrate a willingness to leap into the future. And Italian customs, for reasons we could not quite understand, include the throwing of crockery.
And so it goes. Customs and rituals unique to various regions and peoples abound. But there is one custom that spans the globe as well as the centuries – a custom that we would venture to guess every single one of us has practiced at some time or another. That virtually universal custom is the making of resolutions. Apparently as early as 2600 B.C. the ancient Babylonians made New Year’s resolutions, and more resolutions will surely be made around the world tonight: to lose weight, to straighten out a difficulty, to strengthen a faltering relationship, to behave more thoughtfully or generously or faithfully.
It would seem that resolution-making is the New Year’s custom that has the most resonance with our spiritual and religious lives. It entails both a fearless backward glance at what we have made of ourselves, and well as a hopeful forward gaze into all the possibilities ahead. It acknowledges that we may need forgiveness for some of what has occurred in the past and also encouragement to forge new paths or claim new opportunities for the future.
If we’re thoughtful about this backward and forward looking analysis, then perhaps all our time-anchored scrutiny will remind us of the One who stands beyond time, whose presence with us and concern for us spans the years of our lives and fastens us with bonds of love to an ageless eternity we can only imagine.
If celebrating the New Year helps us to accomplish that, well then, strike up the band – let’s all sing Auld Lang Syne one more time. Happy New Year!
