Why is January 1st so special?

New Years. 

I have a few issues with this holiday.

For one, I know with the holiday comes five months of me trying to adjust and date things 2011 or 11’ rather than 2010 or 10’. A little frustrating but I get over it.

Secondly, the year changing is really all that sets apart January 1^st from any other day, so why is it special? Why is kissing someone at midnight on the 31^st of December truly more special then kissing them at 11:04 on the 31^st of December or midnight on the 12^th of March?

Is New Years special because it’s a time for resolutions? I feel like if there is a goal you want to accomplish that you feel will make your life more satisfying or you happier, then why wait til New Years to start it? The sooner the better right? If you want to try and lose 20 lbs then why can’t you start working toward your goal on December 8^{th ,}the day the idea strikes you?

Not to be pessimistic, but it almost seems that resolutions tend to make more people sadder at the end of the year than happy.  Mainly because, let’s face it, a lot of resolutions fall through and aren’t accomplished. So, at the end of the year we end up feeling worse about whatever goal it was because we tried and were unsuccessful.

The whole, ‘I made it another year’ aspect bothers me as well. Isn’t this is a revelation that should be celebrated on your birthday? When you really have lived another year. This criticism of course doesn’t apply if your birthday is on the 1^st of January….

It also doesn’t feel like a ‘fresh start’ or a ‘new beginning’ because in the calendar year of my mind, the year really starts in August. Yeah, okay, I'm weird. This is similar to how I feel the week really starts on Monday and not on Sunday, just because you are starting your routine cycle over typically on Monday. I say the year feels like it changes in August because all my life, up until this point, I’ve started a new school year every August. The start of a school year has always felt more like a new beginning than New Years because, well, it is the start of something new. New Years just interrupts the school year only to go back to more of the same.

Wow, who ever thought someone could be this cynical about a simple holiday like New Years.

Seriously, how could a holiday that can make this happen-

 or this-

or this-

be bad? Oh wait...that last one happens all the time.

But New Years has redemption, and that is the community aspect of it all.

On your birthday the whole world doesn’t want to sit back and reflect on your year. New Years is a set date when everyone can come together and be nostalgic for a moment. Think about all the smiles and trials. Come together and celebrate the happy moments you’ve had in that year and toast to an even better future. It gives us a beginning and end.  It’s an end when people can really evaluate their lives and through that come up with resolutions for an even better life. A set date easy to remember by which you can measure your success in those resolutions. But most of all...

New Years Eve is a single moment in time where practically all of the world is meeting up with friends or family to celebrate…well, life. And that is special.

So here is to a new decade. Goodbye 2010, you were pretty good to me. I hope you all had a wonderful New Years Eve and an even better 2011. 

Cheers

~Lissa

PS. Not to go against my thoughts on New Years resolutions or anything but I guess I have made one. The idea hit me today so hey... I'm going to write on this blog more. Every day? Maybe. Once a week? more likely. A few times a week? That's what I'll try for. It's a resolution I've made many a time before but that doesn't mean I can't try again.