by Dr Elizabeth Menon

Created on: January 08, 2009

Another Year and A New Beginning

Another year gone and a new beginning of hope and anticipation is emerging. Christmas and New Year celebrations are only just over but we are already into the second week of Year 2009 farewell to the passing year and a grand welcome to the new year of hope and happiness! Christmas is a time of hope and a new beginning to all, irrespective of ones religion. But amidst all the celebrations, buying presents and feasting on mountains of food one should not forget why we celebrate Christmas for most people, it's the celebration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, but for some, it doesn't stretch beyond Christmas lights, the presents and of course the Turkey! New Year is celebrated on January1, according to the Gregorian calendar but it was not always the same.

The celebration of the New Year was observed in ancient Babylon around 4000 yrs ago with the appearance of the first new moon, on the first day of spring season of rebirth and planting new crops. The Roman calendar was tampered many times by their emperors that it became out of synchronization with the sun, and the tampering continued till Emperor Julius Caesar established the Julian calendar, in 46 BC, and declared January 1 as the New Year. Early Catholic Church condemned the celebrations as Paganism, but later on they began to have their own celebrations at the same time as the Pagan celebrations. New Year's day is still celebrated as the Feast of Christ's Circumcision by some denominations. Other traditions include the Tournament of Roses parade and parading a baby in a basket to represent rebirth and the spirit of fertility, in Greece and in Egypt. Though early Christians considered this as Paganism, the Church finally allowed its members to celebrate the New Year with a baby, to symbolize the birth of the baby Jesus!

New Year also brings an old declaration to the forefront, the New Year Resolutions, which dates back to the Babylonians most popular resolution then was to return borrowed farm tools! This is the time when people feel forced to make decisions, but mostly they are declarations rather than decisions! But if the resolutions are not taken with proper planning and a realistic attitude, they are likely to fail, which brings on a sense of inadequacy, low self-Esteem, and even depression! Therefore, it's paramount that one should not focus on ones inadequacies or negative points while contemplating to take New Year resolutions. It's also important to consider a realistic

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