Yes! We’re here! A week late I know, and there is genuinely no excuse for that! But 2019, what a year ahead of us. This is going to be a big one.
I love the new year celebrations more than Christmas, although admittedly they are both very different. However, the past week I cannot seem to have been able to shake the unreasonable feeling of blissful excitement for the year ahead. Here are some thoughts on the new year.
Why Celebrating the New Year is Important Globally
This may seem like a long shot, after all, across the globe’s many timezone’s, many people will greet the New Year hours apart from each other. However, it is not about one single global 10 second countdown, rather about social connection.
Speaking as an Englishman, heavily indoctrinated by my country’s Christian history, it is often easy to forget how Christmas is not a global celebration. Indeed, more people than I can even imagine will barely notice the 25th of December come and go. And yet, I sit here in my comfy Devon home oblivious to the passing of celebrations such as Diwali, Carnaval, Hanukkah, Dia de los Muertos etc.
The point I am trying to make is, despite the Chinese celebrating new year on a different date, new year’s eve is perhaps the most collectively celebrated date around the world. This is because it maintains no links, ties, or associations with a particular religious belief system and, therefore, is all inclusive. If you accept the Gregorian calendar, which admittedly even the Chinese understand, you will have an understanding of new year.
New Years eve is a chance to put aside other cultural, religious beliefs, and join together in the celebration of an 8 turning into a 9. The prime example is North Korea who, despite remaining so shut off from the world, celebrated along with their entire time-zone the single moment we moved into 2019. This is a country who have almost adopted an entirely different numbering system to their years, with 1912, the birth-year of Kim Il-Sung, becoming Juche 1 (making 2019 Juche 108). And yet, putting aside the propaganda-laden address from Kim Jong-Un, the 31st of December saw countless North Koreans take to the streets of Pyongyang for celebrations to the tune of music and fireworks overhead.
Festivals that can be celebrated by everyone under the sun are incredibly important and a cause for healthy relationships between people of different cultures and religions.
New Years Resolutions
I felt I needed to write something about New Year’s resolutions, to remind everyone why New Year is important personally, as well as globally.
- Be realistic with your new year’s resolutions. Everyone gives up eventually, but if you start far smaller than you think is necessary, you will stick to it.
- Give yourself a break! If you’ve been beating yourself up – we all have things we don’t like about ourselves – give yourself a chance to be positive for once. 2019 is your year! I know its mine.
- Let things go. 2018 didn’t go down so well? It’s time for a fresh start. Forget whats been bothering you and move on.
- Try something new! Don’t be scared, if it doesn’t work out you can always move on.
- Live 2019 like its the last year of your life. It will be amazing. Trust me. No regrets.
Personally? This year is going to be absolutely massive and I am disgustingly ready to take it in my stride!
Til next time,
Stay Hydrated.
Chemin des Bonshommes