Before I start tonight's blog post I want to wish you and your family all a Happy and Safe New Year and may 2022 be a better year than our last few.
Tonight's topic probably isn't so much about cultural traditions that are unique but celebrating the end of the year is something all humans do. Depending on where you are or what calendar you follow the dates maybe different but no matter where we are we tend to celebrate making it through another rotation around the sun.
Have you ever thought why? A study on the psychology of the event titles
WHY WE REALLY CELEBRATE NEW YEARS DAY sums it up well, survival. We've managed to make it through an entire 365 days and we're still here and given the current pandemic the last two new years celebrations probably mean a lot more to everyone.
So with that in mind little miss and I got bust preparing the food for the big feast over briquettes and charcoal, proper charcoal this time I was feeling a little different. Normally I use just briquettes but I went all out on this one. Mind you Mumma bear was at work (don't ever date a nurse or they'll never be home on important events). For little miss this celebration was different because she's starting to reflect on the world around us and was asking plenty of questions why. Why do we need to cook food? Why do we need to season food, why are we celebrating today? Is it someone's birthday?
So as I taught her the dangers of fire all over again and how to get the fire going we spoke about Christmas and new years. Christmas is a challenging one to respond to because I was raised in a Roman catholic household but I have long moved away from religion as I didn't have the best experience with it growing up.
She'd been informed by her friends that it was Jesus birthday and he saved the world and she asked me how unfortunately I am not that big in religion and I spoke to her about many thousands of years ago there were pagens and they'd commence celebrations around December and it was a popular holiday period. A way for the religious leaders of the time to appeal to them and convert them they also made it Jesus birthday. Because no one really knows when jesus Birthday really is as no one kept records back then.
She also asked about Santa 🎅 and we spoke of the tail of saint Nick who gave all the kids who couldn't afford presents toys.
Eventually mumma bear came home from work and we also delved into something a little different, alcohol. I know right what? Different? We haven't had a proper drink together for a number of years but with the wife working at a hospital and COVID running rampant we couldn't risk going out and catching it not that there was much on due to COVID restrictions.
So we stayed in this year and I tried my hand at making cocktails and Martini's I'm usually a scotch drinker but I'm really enjoying espresso Martini's. I realised that I probably should have limited my amount but abit about that later on.
Little Miss asked about alcohol and why we drink it and that question really struck a cord and I had no response other than It dulls the pain which wasn't a great response because she asked what pain? I giggled and smiled and said that it's a grown up drink that makes you happy pre-emptively responded how the liquid turns to sugar which blew her little mind. She asked for one and I said that kids can't have alcohol but I can make her her own special martini so I made her a Barbie Martini without the Vodka or Malibu.
And of course little bloke had his hands full with his own version.
We had a really great night at home with the kids alone, our own little world away from everyone. Not that we aren't going on Holiday we're off in a few weeks to a popular destination in Victoria and can't wait to go swimming and enjoy the time away.
But it did get me thinking about why we celebrate or what new years means to me. As an adult the days of partying up and getting drunk are long gone and I can totally relate to the celebrating of survival. Something that we are all currently doing, just trying to get on with our lives, make ends meet and continue living. Something not everyone is privileged of doing and we know as another year passes we will lose more friends, more family members and we draw weary on when our number is up.
But I think the celebrations are more about time than surviving, time with each other.
What are your thoughts? Why do you celebrate New Years?