Several years ago, when we started a New Year's letter, we hoped in time, it would become as popular as our Christmas Letter which is now over 55 years old. Here it is again, with several updates.
 The most casual encounter with history reveals that the celebration of the New Year is one of the oldest (if not the oldest) of all holidays known to man. As best we can determine, it was first observed in ancient Babylon about 4000 years ago.
And it wasn't always celebrated on the first of January, either. In the years around 2000 BC, when the Babylonians first began the celebration, the New Year began with the first New Moon after the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring).
If you stop and think about it, the beginning of spring is a natural time to start a New Year. After all, it is the season of budding trees, planting new crops, and of new beginnings. Conversely, January 1, has no significance, agriculturally, astronomically or any other way. It is purely arbitrary as you see from the following:
The Chinese New Year is celebrated on a different date each year. Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is celebrated in September. India's New Year, Diwali, is celebrated in October. In Iran (also called Persia) the New Year called No Ruz, is celebrated on the first day of spring. The Japanese celebrate New Year's on January 1st, 2nd and January 3rd. In Japan, this holiday is known as Shougastu, it is a three-day celebration.
While it is easy to compile the difference in the dates of celebration, it is not as easy to understand the meaning of the different celebrations. This excerpt, from an article written by Scott McConnell, (who writes for the Ayn Rand Institute) entitled "What Is the Meaning of New Years?" gives a glimpse of the dilemma."
“…the meaning of most holidays is clear: Valentine's Day celebrates romance; July Fourth, independence; Thanksgiving, productivity; Christmas, good will toward men. The meaning of New Year's Day--the world's most celebrated holiday--is not so clear.
On this day, many people remember last year's achievements and failures and look forward to the promise of a New Year, of a new beginning. But this celebration and reflection is the result of more than an accident of the calendar. New Year's has a deeper significance. What is it? On New Year's Day, when the singing, fireworks and champagne toasts are over, many of us become more serious about life. We take stock and plan new courses of action to better our lives.”
Which leads us to this observation. It may be true that New Years has a different meaning for different people. That in some ways one year may seem like another, but ever since the events of Sept 11, 2001, and the subsequent events in Afghanistan, Iraq, the tsunami in Indonesia, the earthquakes in Pakistan and Hurricane Katrina, the meaning for many is like none other we've ever experienced…and yet, viewed in the perspective of time, there is a familiar pattern.
Well, we're not smart enough or brash enough to make any predictions for the New Year. We well remember the words of Mark Twain who said, "The art of prophecy is very difficult, especially about the future." Nor would we suggest any New Year's resolutions, which are one of the most popular rituals of New Years (and usually broken in 30 days), but to paraphrase Henry Thoreau, "things don't change, people do."
Try to keep things in perspective. Just think about where you were 10 years ago, what you believed in, what was going on in the world and how different it is now than it was then. We may be bruised, we may be shaken (but we survived) and no doubt, things will continue to change and evolve and we'll continue to survive. For most people there is a need to find meaning in their lives. Beliefs may differ. Rituals may differ. Prayers may differ. But the search for meaning and understanding is common throughout the world.
For some, the past year may have been wildly successful; a time of joy and prosperity…for others, a time of tragic loss. Miraculously, time has a way of healing; releasing us and letting us go forward…to celebrate another year.
This final note. As we ring out the old year, we pause to note that this is the 173rd issue of the Hot-Cold newsletter that we started over 7 years ago. We hope you have found them informative and easy to read and promise to try and make them even more so as we begin 2008.
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