It’s that time of the year again when the bells ring and Christmas passes us by. Santa is gone but the fun has just arrived! It’s the holiday season and next in line is the New Year’s Eve. This is the season when the campus is deserted and everyone is going back to celebrate with their family and friends. The chilling weather and heavy fog has no impact on their enthusiasm. So just in case, if you are not aware with New Year’s here is an update.

Today, most New Year’s festivities begin on December 31 (New Year’s Eve), the last day of the Gregorian calendar, and continue into the early hours of January 1 (New Year’s Day). As to the history of New Year’s Eve, The early Roman calendar consisted of ten months and 304 days, with every year starting at the vernal equinox; consistent with tradition, it had been created by Romulus, the founding father of Rome, within the eighth century B.C. A later king, NumaPompilius, is attributable with adding the months of Januarius and Februarius. Over the centuries, the calendar fell out of set with the sun, and in forty six B.C. the emperor Julius Caesar determined to resolve the matter by consulting with the foremost distinguished astronomers and mathematicians of his time. He introduced the Julian calendar that closely resembles the Gregorian calendar that is used round the world these days.

So now that the history lesson is over let’s talk about our New Year’s Eve. I personally feel that New Year’s are a way to bond with those people who are not in touch with us anymore. There was a time in our life when the New Year was celebrated on 1st January because we were not old enough to go out and party. But not anymore! It’s one of the few benefits of growing up. Our new year’s is a time of enjoyment and hardcore parties! But a New Year’s Eve is not only about parties, it’s that time of the year when we look back to the 365 days we just overcame. The mistakes we did, the lessons we learn, our achievements, our joys and our failures. To sum it up, it is a bittersweet reflection of the year that just finished. But this celebration and reflection is not only the result from an accident of the calendar. New Year’s reflects a deeper significance. What’s it?

On New Year’s Day once the singing, dancing, fireworks and champagne toasts end, we get a year older and more experienced. We get more solemn about our lives subconsciously. We tend to scrutinize and set up new courses of action for ourselves to better our lives. It is reflected by one of the most popular customs of this world wide holiday: making resolutions. This popular custom gives a key meaning to this holiday. Yes it is true in some cases that a resolution made never lives up to the end of first week, but still it is a way of creating our own mind set about certain things. We may not apply it in our lives spontaneously, but eventually it becomes a part of our yearly schedule. We can also say it’s the only holiday that unites us as one. We celebrate it regardless of our caste and creed. It comes once a year and leaves us stronger and wiser. So I would like to say that a New Year is on its way and the possibilities are endless! It’s time for us to open a new book and write its first chapter, aNew Year’s Day.

Wising you all a very joyous and eventful New Year!