*grins* Yeah, my New Year begins at Samhain, too. But I do enjoy a good party with good friends. I just don't treat it like a truly significant event.
As for following the crowd... ten years ago, when everyone was freaking out about Y2K, my friends and I decided to just get away from civilization for the evening. We found a small, secluded lake out in the woods of New Hampshire. It had been a cold December with no snow, so the lake was beautifully frozen and ready for ice skating. We built a bonfire on the shore, lit the ice with the headlights from the car, and ice-skated in the New Year under the stars.
I think it was the best New Year's I'd ever had. :)
We built a bonfire on the shore, lit the ice with the headlights from the car, and ice-skated in the New Year under the stars.
Oh, that sounds gorgeous. I'd go for all of that, and maybe even try the skating thing despite the fact that I can't skate to save my life. :)
I guess I'm more jaded at the silliness of the holiday, the way it's portrayed in the media and stuff. Maybe if I did something special like that it'd take on some meaning.
I hear ya. I'm usually in bed by 11 PM on New Year's Eve, perhaps the most pointless of all the pointless holidays. The only one I care about much at all is Easter.
I love Thanksgiving best, because it's nonsectarian and has lots of food, and also because I get to ritually listen to Alice's Restaurant with my family. Yeah, I know, dorkiest thing ever.
My goodness, wipe that snarl off your face and toss a handful of confetti! I agree that the year turns on January 1st is so very meaningless. It could be celebrated any day of the year. However, the holiday itself (and the moment the year officially turns) is far from meaningless. Consider first that humans are social creatures, thus they're behaving as humans, not lemmings, when they take advantage of an opportunity to celebrate with family and friends. Coming together in a happy and celebratory way is a good thing, after all! Consider second that there is a base draw of shared experience when it comes to these kinds of large-scale events. A sense of bonding weaves through the human psyche when one realizes that they're participating in an experience shared by billions of one's brothers and sisters throughout lands near and far (though at different moments with New Year's Eve of course). I've always loved that aspect of the holiday more than any other. So cut loose your inner cynic and cut the human race some slack for mercy's sake.
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Consider first that humans are social creatures, thus they're behaving as humans, not lemmings, when they take advantage of an opportunity to celebrate with family and friends. Coming together in a happy and celebratory way is a good thing, after all!
See, I do this on Thanksgiving and Christmas--I do agree that social events with family and friends are wonderful (and I'm a big fan of the human race *g*), but I haven't done family things for New Year's Eve since my kids were all living at home. The lemming part isn't the social aspect, it's the "okay, we have to drink now" part (and honestly, this isn't about the evils of alcohol, because I love me some good alcohol when the occasion is right).
And the more I think about why I get all Bah Humbug about the holiday, the more I really think it's the way it's marketed. The media makes the whole thing into something that turns me off. I think next year I'll do something wholly personal to mark the occasion.
*hugs* Blessings for the coming year, devotchka. :)
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As for following the crowd... ten years ago, when everyone was freaking out about Y2K, my friends and I decided to just get away from civilization for the evening. We found a small, secluded lake out in the woods of New Hampshire. It had been a cold December with no snow, so the lake was beautifully frozen and ready for ice skating. We built a bonfire on the shore, lit the ice with the headlights from the car, and ice-skated in the New Year under the stars.
I think it was the best New Year's I'd ever had. :)
Bright Blessings!
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Oh, that sounds gorgeous. I'd go for all of that, and maybe even try the skating thing despite the fact that I can't skate to save my life. :)
I guess I'm more jaded at the silliness of the holiday, the way it's portrayed in the media and stuff. Maybe if I did something special like that it'd take on some meaning.
Blessings to you, too, m'dear. *hugs*
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See, I do this on Thanksgiving and Christmas--I do agree that social events with family and friends are wonderful (and I'm a big fan of the human race *g*), but I haven't done family things for New Year's Eve since my kids were all living at home. The lemming part isn't the social aspect, it's the "okay, we have to drink now" part (and honestly, this isn't about the evils of alcohol, because I love me some good alcohol when the occasion is right).
And the more I think about why I get all Bah Humbug about the holiday, the more I really think it's the way it's marketed. The media makes the whole thing into something that turns me off. I think next year I'll do something wholly personal to mark the occasion.
*hugs* Blessings for the coming year, devotchka. :)
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