A new year always brings great promise. All the negative detritus of the past year is swept away to make way for the new. We get a clean slate at the start of every year; that we write on that slate, only time will tell.
Various cultures have marked the occasion in many different ways, from the sounding of the gong in Buddhist temples 108 times, one for each of the 108 human failings; to the all-night neighbourhood parties and “First Footer” tradition of the Scots.
One popular tradition in many countries is to mark the start of the new year with fireworks, or at the very least, bonfires of old Christmas trees. In days gone by, the noise and bright light of the fireworks was commonly thought to keep evil spirits at bay, and keep them from influencing the new year.
In some cultures, lighting of giant fires on the longest night of the year, the winter solstice, was thought to herald the return of the life-giving sun. Today, setting the skies alight with a dramatic display of colour seems a fitting way to acknowledge the excitement of a new year.
Also popular in many cultures around the world is feasting and exchanging gifts. Certain foods are thought to bring good fortune or foretell the future. In Spain and Spanish-speaking countries, people eat 12 grapes at midnight, one for each month of the new year (a sour one might indicate a bad month); black-eyed peas are eaten in the southern United States; fish is eaten in many homes – but not lobster, as they move backwards. The start of a new year is not for looking back, but ahead.
Oddly, North America seems to have contributed some of the newer and more bizarre New Year’s traditions, from the dropping of the crystal ball in Times Square, to football games. Polar bear dips on New Year’s Day top the “bizarre” list although the plunge into icy waves is often done to raise money for charity. There are strong elements of doing penance for the misdeeds of the previous year that likely culminated in the New Year’s Eve party the night before.
The making (and breaking) of resolutions is a popular way of celebrating the start of a new year, perhaps another backlash against the general excesses of the holiday season.
Most of us have learned that the more ambitious and unrealistic the resolution is, the faster it will be broken. Few of us have the intestinal fortitude to give up decades of drinking, smoking and mid-morning snacks and take up jogging, all at the same time. Even one of those is difficult.
So we keep our resolutions modest – perhaps we vow to tackle one particular harmful habit over the course of the entire year. We might decide to give to charity in 2012, and spend the first week or so deciding which organization will get the money.
We might strive to be kinder, a nebulous sort of resolution that makes success difficult to measure. We might decide to do whatever we can to make the world a better place. Few of us follow through on that ultimate resolution to make no more resolutions. The annual opportunity to set aside all our failures and start fresh is simply too good to ignore.
At this point, 2012 is still fresh and new, filled with potential. We have a whole year to celebrate that potential by using the good china more often, getting together with friends instead of parking ourselves in front of the telly, learning a new skill, joining a volunteer group, reading the book we have been saving for when we have time, and in general, enjoying whatever opportunities 2012 offers. There will be many. There always are, but too often, we let most of them sail by. Not this year.