SO WHAT'S ALL THE FUSS ABOUT?

The Annunciation. The Circumcision of Jesus. Other pre-Christian celebrations on the day. Other Pagan celebrations on the day. Throughout history great importance has been placed on the eve of this first day of the New Year, regardless of when it falls in the various calendars. That tends to puzzle me.

At one time the passage of time was really marked by the passing of the seasons. That was simple. That was easy. That seems to me so logical. Man’s survival, literally, was at stake. When to prepare, when to plant, when to harvest, how long stores had to last all meant feast or famine, life or death. At the least it meant life would be harder if you screwed up the producing cycle than if you prepped properly for it and accommodated it.

So that brings me back to New Year’s Eve. I’m not sure of what it is an expression.  Well, when we wake on New Year’s Day, not much is different than it was the day before. We have a new calendar but no more or less money in the bank, no better or worse health (unless you have hang over from celebrating celebrating), no less or more sorrow or joy than the day before. So, it can’t be an expression of real change either for the better or worse.

Maybe it’s an expression of a desire for new beginnings. Well, why is that the rather exclusive domain of the changing of the year? A gym can be joined any day of the year. Savings, diets, the breaking of habits and the shoring up of resolves can take place on May 1 or December 11 or August 30 just as easily and determinedly as January 1. Perhaps it is just a delaying tactic allowing us to wallow in our old ways a bit longer.

Oh, I’ve celebrated New Year’s Eve in many ways. None of them ever made sense to me beyond the reason for a party, a big one. So, maybe that’s reason enough, a desire to have a really big feast with a bunch of people all of whom are spending pots of money. I like it quiet.