It’s New Year’s Eve – again.
After so many years of changing calendars, the thrill of increasing the year value by one seems so trivial. Who celebrates the end of the month with a party with cries of; “Yeah, it’s February!” for instance? Why does the end of a year hold so much value to us as a culture? It’s not like we place any special meaning on particular years as they arrive as the Chinese do. For them 2014 will be the Year of the Green Wood Horse which is full of meaning for those who follow these things. 2014 in the western world is simply the year following 2013 and prior to 2015 with little meaning in its own right. So, what’s the big deal? Really? Why should today be any more of a day for personal reflection than any other day?
One thing that traditionally makes New Year’s Eve special is that it is an excuse to have a party. My limited web research yielded a history of new year celebrations in western culture dating back to the ancient Babylonians. Their calendar, like that of the Chinese was based on lunar cycles and had a mystical quality to them. It seems their world view was so dependent upon staying in favor with their gods that when the new year actually arrived, it was cause for celebration.
These days we just don’t tie God in too much with our calendar. Oh sure, we all know when Christmas is and that it is Jesus’ birthday and we make a point of knowing when Easter is so we can plan our egg hunts and family dinners accordingly, but how many of us really think about God at New Year’s? Do we celebrate that we are given another year to again try to get it right or are we just celebrating for the sake of celebration? I’m not sure. Certainly many will profess to celebrate God all year, and truthfully, many do. But how many of us, myself included, can really say they actively see the power of God in each and every day?
As happens so many times when I sit down to right, I’m not sure where I’m going or where I’ll end up. This time I’ve apparently given myself something to think about as we say goodbye to the old year and ring in the new and I suppose I’ve just challenged myself to begin to celebrate the end of each day, month and year in a new way; to open myself to the possibility that there was a lot more to the way our ancient forbearers perceived these annual new beginnings as linked to the divine and not just some silly superstition.
I guess that is my resolution for the New Year; to keep my eyes and mind open; to listen and hear. I’ll let you know how that works for me. Thanks for listening to me.