Our planet spun around its access 365 times since we last celebrated New Years’ Eve. We travelled around the sun one more time.
Though the duration of our calendar system’s years are astronomically determined, the choice of day is very arbitrary. We could have chosen any other day — in fact there exist many other calendar systems with differing new years days (see New Year on Wikipedia).
If we wanted an astronomically significant day, we could have gone with summer or winter solstice (longest or shortest day of the year, but which hemisphere?), or for that matter the March or September equinox (when day and night are equally long, with the sun right above the equator). In fact, some calendars, such as the Iranian calendar, does just that: new year’s day on the vernal equinox (Spring equinox, i.e. March, northern hemisphere).
The point being: we’re talking pure human culture here, nothing more.
And yet the day carries much significance in our culture, there is no denying that — it forms a part of many people’s yearly rituals, a rhythm to life. We open champagne bottles with friends or family, we fire fireworks, we consider the year behind and the year ahead, we make new years’ resolutions, we have countdowns…
What did you do on the evening of the 31st?
2 responses so far ↓
1 thinker // Jan 1, 2012 at 5:44 pm
We took it easy. My sister and I were away from home, joined by two others, one a long-time friend of my sister’s. A nice dinner together, including bubbly. (Nearer midnight, attempts to open a much older bubbly failed.
I ended up breaking the cork.)
At the dinner table we did a little bit of reflection, each telling the story of approximately three highlights of 2011, then a round of looking forward, explaining some of our hopes for the upcoming year. Not resolutions, mind you. I don’t think I’ve ever made new years’ resolutions, and neither has my sister.
When it comes to resolutions to fix something, any day is a good day to start.
2 Strangelove // Feb 11, 2012 at 5:43 pm
We had a fairly sedate affair in Stellenbosch. Some swimming and braaing in the summer evening air, and off course, the obligatory champagne or sparkling wine as we have to call it these days, maybe it was even methode cap classique. who remembers these things. I aslo don’t make new years resolutions, not just because any time is a good time, but because a party filled with drink, friends, and merriment is the worst time to make such plans. Better to relax with your friends; worry about what you want to change in your life when you are on your own and pressured by enough other things that you wont overshoot your self-expectations.
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