Why do people celebrate New Years, & why did I capitalize it?

[kenny]

It's merely when the earth reaches the same place, in its orbit around the sun, that it was 365 earth-revolutions ago.
Rather unremarkable.
Actually, it does this every day.
... and you can make a resolution on any day.
Jan 1 does not hold magical powers that help you eat better, exercise, or stop smoking.

It's not like we are honoring the first time the earth was here.
The day picked is arbitrary.

Just an excuse for a party, a day off work?

 

[Missy]

I think because life is challenging and difficult and people need reasons to celebrate and bring joy into one’s life. And yes events and shared experiences and things to look forward to all make life a little better. If that makes sense.

Personally I’m looking forward to first time ever staying home the whole day and night and just spending a quiet time with my dh. And of course going to bed early hopefully.

Wishing everyone here a happy and healthy 2018. May it bring all you are hoping for and more and good health and good times with our loved ones. Wishing for peace and contentment.

 

[december-fire]

Yup! You're right! Its a man-made thing that can be ignored or celebrated as we see fit.

Although people can make resolutions, or decide to make certain changes in their life any old day, a lot of people don't pause to think about their lives as they're rushing around trying to get everything done.

People can also get caught up in the demands of life and don't often schedule time for friends or fun stuff. A holiday places a focus on these things.

For those of us in places that have less warmth and sunshine at this time of year, its nice to break up the cold, dark weather with celebrations.

Life is lots of serious stuff and challenges; if some silliness or joy can be brought into our lives, then go for it!

 

[jordyonbass]

I think of it like when I do land surveying; you need to have an arbitrary baseline to take measurements from. So essentially it is a zero point from which everything is then measured. Same as years, we need to pick an arbitrary day as a baseline so we know what to expect over the next 365 days. Someone obviously picked January 1st as that specific date at some point in history. Could have been any month but obviously being the 1st of a month makes sense.

And just like land surveying, when it's all over with sometimes it's just nice to sit back with a coworker, a few beers, relax and talk about the day. On NYE you're simply swapping out coworkers for friends for a change & talking about your year instead of work.

 

[ksinger]

The resolution thing is just a blip, a distraction, and has nothing to do with a celebration of a new year, or hopes for it.

Humans have been marking the turning of a full year and any seasons they experienced, with festivals, holidays, and henges for oh, about as long as we've been sentient. Understanding more about those cycles shouldn't preclude celebratory markings of the passage of those seasons, no matter what cultural gloss we've got on it this millennium. And I can't think of anything that ties us all the way back to our beginnings, better than seasonal festivals, whatever they masquerade as.

 

[lyra]

I think it gives some of us fleeting hope for the future, if we've had a bad year. We don't celebrate it in a meaningful way. It is a couple of days of cheating on our diet. I'm usually asleep before midnight.

 

[sonnyjane]

It's merely when the earth reaches the same place, in its orbit around the sun, that it was 365 earth-revolutions ago.
Rather unremarkable.
Actually, it does this every day.
... and you can make a resolution on any day.
Jan 1 does not hold magical powers that help you eat better, exercise, or stop smoking.

Just an excuse for a party, a day off work?

I agree with you that it is a day like any other day - there have been many before and will be many after - but surely you recognize that the first day of a new year beginning does indeed make it noteworthy. It's like a birthday - it's just another day, but there is something at least remarkable (and I mean worthy of a remark, not the overused interpretation of "that's REMARKABLE!") about the fact that another year has been added to your life, just as for New Years, another year has been added to the calendar. You can celebrate it or not celebrate it, but starting tomorrow, you'll have to start putting 2018 as the date instead of 2017 if nothing else.

 

[House Cat]

I have no idea why we celebrate this day. We SHOULD be celebrating my birthday instead!

 

[AprilBaby]

Happy birthday House Cat!

 

[Karl_K]

Happy birthday House Cat!

 

[valeria101]

.

The traditional answer to this question is 'So that you ask !'

Happy New Year !

- as a matter of course

 

[valeria101]

.

@House Cat - you really picked your day ... I missed everything by a hair (Dec 27).

Happy Birthday & New Year !

 

[House Cat]

Oh no!! I feel so silly for not being more explicit! My birthday is in July! I just meant that if we were going celebrate an arbitrary day, we should celebrate my birthday.

I’m sorry for the confusion.