And a Happy New Year!

Here we are, finding our way to 2025. When this is published, we’ll be in a new year, and celebrations will be everywhere. Wait, weren’t we supposed to have flying cars and jetpacks by 2025?

People celebrate the new year in various ways. Some like to get together with friends or family and ring things in as part of a party. There will be much food and drink as they await the countdown before midnight. 

Michelle and I try to make it to 11:00 and watch the ball drop in New York City. Our party days started to disappear when the kids were young; we realized they were getting up at their normal time the next day, no matter when we fell asleep.

I’ve always considered the beginning of a new school year as my new year anyway. That’s when things start fresh for me; January 1 is not even halfway through the school year, so it’s not as important a date to me, except for remembering to write a new year on my checks. Of course, I don’t write many checks anymore, so it could be a while.

There are so many people who use a new calendar as a reason to celebrate, but a new year begins at different times for different cultures. The one that springs to mind is the Chinese New Year. Unlike our Gregorian calendar, there is not a fixed date that they recognize. It is based on lunar cycles and happens between January 21 and February 20. They name a year after a zodiac sign, depending on the rotation. 2025 will be the Year of the Snake and will happen on January 29. The Chinese have fireworks, parades, and lots of celebrating. They give red envelopes that are filled with money in hopes of prosperity and good luck.

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and lands in September or October. This is the start of High Holy Days in the Jewish religion. Much like our New Year, they spend time looking back at the previous year, but they also ask forgiveness for their wrongs and hope for a good year ahead. The celebration is kicked off by blowing a ram’s horn trumpet. Traditional foods include apples dipped in honey for a sweet year and pomegranates to symbolize an upcoming year full of good deeds. This will be a three-day celebration from September 22-24.

On the TV show “The Office,” one episode highlighted the Hindu New Year, which is known as Diwali. It is a festival of lights and represents the victory of light over darkness and the chance at new beginnings. There are many lamps and candles used, and families get together to celebrate wearing traditional Hindu clothing and eating sweet treats while watching fireworks. There are gifts given, and they try to cleanse their souls and look for happiness. It will happen on October 21 this year. 

 The Islamic culture has what is called Hijri. Muslims celebrate this based on the Islamic calendar and it revolves around the lunar calendar. This year, they will have it June 25-26. There isn’t much celebrating for this new year. There is a lot of prayer, meditation, and reading of their holy books. They hang out with family and try to find ways to grow and get better in the coming year. 

Since visiting New Zealand, I’ve become fascinated by the Maori culture there. They will celebrate this year on June 28, based on when the Pleiades star cluster appears in the sky. There is storytelling and dancing and feasts to celebrate their new year. The Maori focus on the connection between their people and the land. Having experienced their dancing and feasts, I can only imagine what a grand celebration it must be!

Long after our new year’s banners have been tossed and little hats thrown away, many other people around the world will have their own celebrations. One common theme you can note from these is the idea of reflection. That’s why so many people make New Year’s resolutions. They have looked back and decided to do better and to be better. This is something we all have in common worldwide. And it’s reason to hope for 2025 to be the best year yet!

Word of the Week: This week’s word is magniloquent, which means lofty or pompous speaking or writing, as in, “The New Year’s celebration was rife with many magniloquent speeches, while most people just wanted to party.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!