This is the blog that I should have posted last December 31/ January 1 but due to some unfortunate reasons, I wasn’t able to. It is only recently that I was able to finish the article.
In a matter of a few moments, it will be 2006, the new year. For most of us, a new year is a new beginning, a fresh start, and a chance for change. I must wonder though why is it so? The New Year is but just a day following December 31st. It is but just a continuation of the past just like any other day. Things don’t abruptly changed overnight nor would problems go away just because it’s the New Year. Surely, nobody would naively expect that by “tomorrow”, they would be living in a dream world, would they? Then why oh why do we imbibed the New Year with so much “hope” and so much “romance”? A very long time ago, when our ancestors were just beginning to eke out what is our civilization, they notice that the weather changes according to a predictable pattern and that pattern would repeat consistently after a period of time. Spring would be followed summer, which afterwards be followed by autumn and lastly, by winter and then, the cycle begins again with spring following the heels of winter (at least in the temperate climate). From here, our forefathers conceive the idea of a “year” and discovered that nature eventually “renew” itself quite predictively. From this, our forefathers preach the idea of a New Year as a new beginning, a new hope, a fresh start. Spring always come after the long cold winter. In this case, the New Year represents hope for the future, a better future, a future that will be according to our dream. But if the New Year is about hope and it is just a day in a year, why couldn’t we make everyday a “New Year”? Why not make everyday a fresh start, a new hope, and a new beginning? Why should it be January 1st? Before the 19th century, the Europeans celebrate New Year on Christmas day (apparently due to economic reasons since they couldn’t afford two major festivities in such short notice and aside from that, New Year is a “secular” feast as compared to the “religious” feast that is Christmas). The Chinese celebrates the New Year on February of the “Western” calendar. Other cultures have other dates for the “New Year” (The Greek Orthodox Church celebrated the New Year on January 10). So why January 1st, when we could have it everyday? Put it differently, why do we need to wait for January 1 to jumpstart a change, i.e., make a resolution? In fact, why do we need to set a date for change? Why do we have to draw up a demarcation line when there is none to separate with in the first place? Why should we “compress” the entire past and all the hopes for the future on a single point in time when change happen so inconspicuously, i.e., we only notice the “difference” when change has happened a long time after? Change could have happen way after the New Year and even way before it. All we need to do is will it to happen and make it so. Remember, life doesn’t wait for anyone (it’s a motto I kept reminding myself everyday when I opened my cell phone). Wait till the New Year to make a change and life will pass you by inauspiciously and left you behind.
In a matter of a few moments, it will be 2006, the new year. For most of us, a new year is a new beginning, a fresh start, and a chance for change. I must wonder though why is it so? The New Year is but just a day following December 31st. It is but just a continuation of the past just like any other day. Things don’t abruptly changed overnight nor would problems go away just because it’s the New Year. Surely, nobody would naively expect that by “tomorrow”, they would be living in a dream world, would they? Then why oh why do we imbibed the New Year with so much “hope” and so much “romance”? A very long time ago, when our ancestors were just beginning to eke out what is our civilization, they notice that the weather changes according to a predictable pattern and that pattern would repeat consistently after a period of time. Spring would be followed summer, which afterwards be followed by autumn and lastly, by winter and then, the cycle begins again with spring following the heels of winter (at least in the temperate climate). From here, our forefathers conceive the idea of a “year” and discovered that nature eventually “renew” itself quite predictively. From this, our forefathers preach the idea of a New Year as a new beginning, a new hope, a fresh start. Spring always come after the long cold winter. In this case, the New Year represents hope for the future, a better future, a future that will be according to our dream. But if the New Year is about hope and it is just a day in a year, why couldn’t we make everyday a “New Year”? Why not make everyday a fresh start, a new hope, and a new beginning? Why should it be January 1st? Before the 19th century, the Europeans celebrate New Year on Christmas day (apparently due to economic reasons since they couldn’t afford two major festivities in such short notice and aside from that, New Year is a “secular” feast as compared to the “religious” feast that is Christmas). The Chinese celebrates the New Year on February of the “Western” calendar. Other cultures have other dates for the “New Year” (The Greek Orthodox Church celebrated the New Year on January 10). So why January 1st, when we could have it everyday? Put it differently, why do we need to wait for January 1 to jumpstart a change, i.e., make a resolution? In fact, why do we need to set a date for change? Why do we have to draw up a demarcation line when there is none to separate with in the first place? Why should we “compress” the entire past and all the hopes for the future on a single point in time when change happen so inconspicuously, i.e., we only notice the “difference” when change has happened a long time after? Change could have happen way after the New Year and even way before it. All we need to do is will it to happen and make it so. Remember, life doesn’t wait for anyone (it’s a motto I kept reminding myself everyday when I opened my cell phone). Wait till the New Year to make a change and life will pass you by inauspiciously and left you behind.
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