When you buy a new thing to entertain yourself and you see an old thing that you previously loved to use, which will you choose? The new one or the old one? This may be a hard question for most of us, so let’s change the questions. Are you willing to start over and make amends for your mistakes if the opportunity arose? You are, aren’t you? It is always good to have as fresh as newly opened wine.
A day where we can write a new chapter in our new blank-page book. A time to say goodbye to the mistakes we made and say hello to new opportunities that will knock on our door. Another round of toast for a fresh start. This is an exquisite day where we do not need to ask ourselves the ridiculous question that others keep on saying: “Is January 1 different from any other day?”
According to the history of the New Year, before the current calendar we use now, the Roman Calendar was in use. It was created by the founder of Rome, Romulus, and consisted of 10 months and 304 days. Later on, the months of Januarius and Februarius were added by the second king of Rome, Numa Pumpilius, in 1973 B.C.
Each New Year of the said calendar begins on the spring equinox, but hundreds of years later, the calendar becomes out of sync with the sun and causes a mysterious encounter with the people on that day. The current emperor of 46 B.C., Julius Caesar, decides to consult with the leading mathematicians and astronomers of that period. He listened to their advice and introduced the Julian calendar, which is similar to the Gregorian calendar that the majority of the world uses now. From that day onwards, as part of his plan, January 1 was marked as the New Year to honor the God of Beginning, Janus.
As we grow older, we tend to think that the New Year is just something that is marked as a holiday in our calendars. A simple holiday that most of us appreciate because it allows us to take a day off while still earning a penny. It is like a display in our house, and we decide to call it the New Year because it is a day that most people around us call it.
It is like a thing that we once cherished and thought was important, but now it is nothing but a normal occurrence to some of us. It is so sad how many adults lose track of what the true meaning of the New Year is. They keep questioning themselves as if they have never experienced its beauty. It could be true that this is most likely just a regular day with a transition or change of days. But somehow, most of us believe and have decided that this change will have an impact on our lives.
Even if there is no scientific basis for predicting that this day will not be out of the ordinary, there is this feeling that the New Year will definitely be different. A new year is another chance at life for most of us. Another year to make up for last year’s mistakes—and especially a day when you are surrounded by loved ones. Usually, this is the day that families who have drifted apart start to meet in one place and celebrate.
This is the day when most of us choose to apologize to loved ones with whom we have previously fought, and no matter how heavy that fighting was, we would have a miraculous reconciliation. Until this day, there is no evidence proving that the New Year can bring people back, but whenever you hear a beautiful story of other people reuniting with their families once again, doesn’t it make you feel like this day is different?
Also, this is the day when many people see it as a fresh start and an opportunity for change. Do you know that a psychologist from Deakin University School of Psychology said that New Year’s Eve symbolizes “the closing of a chapter and the beginning of a new one” We take advantage of the uncertain future by making a list of resolutions that we should complete by the beginning of the New Year in order to enhance ourselves. Although most of the time we do not succeed in keeping these resolutions, there is still satisfaction that we always feel and that we make ourselves vulnerable to by accepting our mistakes freely and without doubt.
New Year is a new leaf that we can sprout again. There is something special about this day, even though many people disagree with it. If you are still determined that New Year is no more than a change of days and there is nothing different about it, then maybe you are just forgetting the beautiful meaning of it or maybe you are celebrating it with the wrong people.
Therefore, instead of crouching and thinking deeply about what makes this day different, why not go out of your comfort zones and get wild with your friends? We should celebrate the New Year in the same way that we would celebrate our birthdays with the people who are most important to us. After all, it is a new day!
January 1. It is just a normal transition on our calendars. However, once the 12 midnights come and change into January 1, all of us become fascinated with the colorful fireworks that we see in the skies. We begin to wish a wonderful start to the New Year for our friends, family, and even the neighbors that we almost never talked to last year! This day is definitely different because we survived. We survived the hardships that the previous year threw at us. So, raise your glass and toast! Light your fireworks and scream, “We survived, and so the best is yet to come.”
By: Lazy Mel V. Lato
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