Why do we celebrate December 31st and welcome January 1st?  Until today I had no idea.  It’s just a tradition.  Something we’ve always done.  Still, I wondered, how did this tradition get started?  I had to know.  Google to the rescue.

Turns out it began centuries ago.  The Romans began the tradition by honoring the god Janus; who had two faces – one looking to the past, the other to the future. Janus was their god of beginnings.

They chose January 1st because the Julian calendar (45BC) and later the Gregorian calendar (1582) solidified January 1st as the start of the year.

The day evolved with rituals like setting resolutions, partying, and making noise to ward off the evil spirits.  Sound familiar?

When my friends began asking if we could move the clock forward from 10 to 12 PM and pretend it was midnight I knew it was time to drop the partying and noise.  That leaves resolutions.  I never make New Year’s resolutions.  I make daily resolutions: Today I will get the car washed.  Today I will …

I do honor the tradition of Auld Lang Syne – and sharing a cup of kindness.   

And so, to each of you … may the coming year and those beyond be kind to you.

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