If I was to ask you what song is most sung on New Year's Eve, no doubt
you'd say "Auld Lang Syne." The song was originally a poem, and was
old when Robert Burns set it to the tune of an old Scottish folk song in the
late 1700’s. The title itself roughly
translates to "for old times' sake."
(You can read the full history of the song here, as well as find all the lyrics.) It’s a song that most of us
know at least the first verse and chorus to, and we often find it tossed in
with all the other Christmas songs on those CDs we pull out every
Christmas. It is, however, a New Year’s
song, rather than a Christmas song, but since the two holidays are so closely
placed on the calendar, they are often heard at the same time... as if
Christmas started the day after Thanksgiving and lasted until after New Year’s
Day.
New Year's Eve and Day are a time to reflect on what has been in the year
soon to pass, and look to the future for what we want to accomplish in the
coming year. As I look back over this
past year, memories (some good, some not so much) swirl around in my mind as I
remember people, places and events that have been part of my life. I don't think it would be too presumptuous of
me to say that this has been quite the year, with some most unusual things
going on.... around this neck of the woods... around the country... and around
the world as a whole. The annals will
show that we lost many good and famous people this year, that we tread where
none have tread before in the political arena (in several ways), and that many
new family members made their grand debut, as babies were born. The history books won't have to look far to
find something to write about for 2016.
It feels good to tuck that one away and look toward a New Year, full
of..... well, nothing really.... it's up to each of us to do our part to fill
it with whatever we think is best to fill it with. My hope is that it will be a bit more goodness
and kindness, a bit more compassion for our fellow man, and a bit more of the
celebrating of the differences between us rather than letting the differences
separate us.
As with any ending and new beginning, traditions spring up around ways to
celebrate the closing of a chapter and the start of a new one. Some throw parties, or go to one. Some go to New York's Times Square and watch
the ball drop, in person. Other people
attend local fireworks events. Some
prefer a quiet night in front of the TV, watching the ball drop with the family. Some toast the New Year with a glass of champagne, some with sparkling grape juice... and some don't toast at all. Some kiss a loved one.... or whoever is near by... some just scream "Happy New Year".... and some just nod and mumble "Well, that's that" as they sit in their PJ's in front of the TV with a bowl of popcorn and a soda.
When we were kids, our family always put a jigsaw puzzle together that night,
hoping to finish before the ball dropped at midnight, but seldom accomplishing
that. Dad would always get at least one
jigsaw puzzle as a gift for Christmas (usually one that was very hard to do....
one Christmas, it was a big red dot... nothing but red).... so on New Year's
Eve, we'd get out the square card table (you know the one.... green plastic
top, legs that came out from underneath and latched at each corner [careful....
don’t pinch your finger], and wobbly all around) and empty the box of puzzle
pieces onto the table. First we had to
turn them all over, picture side up, laying aside the edge pieces and corners. The edges went together first, then any major
feature in the puzzle picture, filling in the sky or water (or whatever the
background was) last of all. Popcorn,
Pepsi, and roasted/salted Spanish peanuts were the usual snacks. Sometimes we had peanut brittle, or fudge, or
taffy.... depending on what Mom had made during the Christmas holidays. It was a fun time with the family, and a nice
quiet (ish) way to celebrate the last night of the year.
New Year's Day in the south consists of a meal of collards greens,black-eyed peas, and cornbread... worked in somewhere around the Bowl games
that are on TV that day. They are said
to bring luck in the coming year, but we liked 'em because they were
delicious. The black-eyed peas are said
by some to be symbolic of humility and a lack of vanity, and to bring monetary
luck in the coming year. There's an old
saying, "Eat poor on New Year's, and eat fat the rest of the year." As for the collard greens and cornbread...
the saying goes: "Peas for pennies, greens for dollars, and cornbread for
gold," so it's supposed to bring money to you in the coming year. While I'm not a superstitious person, it
feels like something is missing if I don't eat these things on New Year's
Day. The collards can be fresh or
canned.... that part doesn't matter as far as I have ever known. The black-eyed peas can be from the can,
frozen, or cooked from dried beans. Ham,
left over from Christmas, is usually added to the beans and the collards for
seasoning (and to use up the last bits of the ham.... waste not, want
not!) It's just plain ol' good ol' down
home eatin', is what it is... and if it happens to bring luck in the coming
year, so much the better.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the time honored tradition of the New
Year’s Resolution. Why do we do this to
ourselves? We make promises to ourselves
(and often others) that we're going to do something or other.... some life
altering something, like dieting, or exercise, or quitting a bad habit. Our
intentions are great. We want to better
ourselves in the coming year.... make our self a better person somehow, whether
it’s stopping something (like a bad habit) or starting something (like
exercise). We know that setting a goal
is how to accomplish a thing... so we imagine ourselves as the best person we
can be, and reach for the sky full of hope and determination. Then a week or two later, we find out we're
human after all, and give in to temptation, or take a day (or seven) off from
going to the gym, or whatever.... then we guilt ourselves for weeks because we
broke our promise. After participating
in this hallowed tradition for many years, I realized (probably the day I broke
my New Year's Resolution for the year) that I was, in essence, starting my new
year with failure.... and that wasn't really the message I wanted to give to
myself, or give to others who were around me........ Sooooooo..... The next
year, I made a resolution to NOT make resolutions. So far, I've finally succeeded at a
resolution. :)
Whether you celebrate big and loud... or with just a small group of family
or friends.... Whether you eat your
collards, greens and cornbread, or go out for a hamburger.... Whether you make
a resolution or not.................... Take
time to count your blessings... Look at
where you were at the beginning of the year, and how much you’ve learned over
the year... Remember all the times that
you showed love to family and friends, and they to you... Take time to be grateful for all you have,
for there’s always someone with less than you have. Bring the good, the hope, the love, the
friendships to the front of your vision for the past year.
And when you look toward 2017....
fill it with compassion.... fill it with hope.... fill it with
goodness..... fill it with love. Sure,
we all know there are going to be bad times and bad days... that’s just part of
Life. But Life is 90% how you look at
it.... The choice is yours!
To quote one of
my favorite TV shows:
“We are all
stories in the end. Make it a good one!”
(Doctor Who)
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