It is the
end of one year and time to prepare for a new one, at least in our Western
culture it is. Not every culture celebrates the coming of the new year at the
same time. Here at the western edge of North America, we are happy to celebrate
a new year once again in January or February depending on the Chinese lunar
calendar.
But that
comes later, now it is New Year’s Eve, at midnight we will change our 2016
calendars for calendars to mark off the days of 2017. Many of us will
attend parties to celebrate the occasion, watch TV shows with their official
countdowns or attend fireworks displays.
There are
other traditions that come with the beginning of a new year. Adventurous types,
or maybe ones continuing the evening’s celebrations, might take a plunge. Many
places near water have a traditional Polar Bear swim. Vancouver boasts that it
has one of the oldest Polar Bear Swim Clubs in the world having started the
ritual of the annual dip in 1920.
For those
who prefer less spectacular and more lasting changes for the new year, there are New Year’s Resolutions. People have been marking the start of a new year
with resolutions since the time of the Babylonians. The promises are no longer
made to gods but rather to ourselves and usually involve a change in lifestyle
for the better. Have you made a resolution to stop smoking, improve your diet
or increase your activity level? If so, you are following a tradition that is
thousands of years old.
However you mark the changing year, I wish you a Happy New Year and all the best in 2017.
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Year's_resolution
http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/polar-bear-swim.aspx
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Year's_resolution
http://vancouver.ca/parks-recreation-culture/polar-bear-swim.aspx
