Have you ever thought about why we celebrate New Years when we do? Why was January 1st chosen as the veginning of the new year. By definition this date represents a beginning of something new. Our early ancestors based all their timing on the movement of the planets, changing of the seasons and most importantly the movement of the sun.
So why choose January 1st? If you think about it, nothing new happens on the morning of January 1, except that we are told it is the start of a new calendar year.
Why didn't they choose the first day of spring? Don't you think that might better represent the beginning of something new? At least at this time, life is beginning to grow again after a hard winter. Waking uo on New Years in the spring would definitely be a new world. Hopefully, no shovelling the snow just to get outside the door. Instead you would be greeted by budding flowers, a warming sun, chirping birds, and a general air of happiness and hope. I don't know about you, but that sounds like something I wouldn't mind waking up to.
Now I know this is an improbably wish. Unfortunately for us the spring thaw doesn't happen on a predictable schedule. But there is always another option.
What about December 22nd? To me it seems like a great logical choice. December 21st (the winter solstice) is considered the shortest day of the year, since it has the fewest hours of sunlight. This makes it the darkest day of the year. It also means that each day following it will be slightly brighter.
What could make for a celebration for a new beginning than the change from increasing darkness to increasing light? That to me much better embodies the definition of beginning something new, more than the arbitrary date we have set for us now.
So lets join together and start a movement to move New Years to the 21st. If you are a little on the fence, just think of all the statutory holidays we would get bunched together! :)
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