Feature Photo By: Rediet Ayanaw – Junior Ashley Ortega (left) and sophomore Blessed Asare (right) hug for the new year that is approaching.
2018 is coming to an end while 2019 is straight ahead, waiting. January 1st marks the first day of a new year. New Year’s Day has been celebrated for centuries, dating back to the Babylonian time periods; however, New Years hasn’t always been on January 1st.
New Year’s used to be celebrated on April 1st until France changed its Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. Due to this change, people were not getting the news that the calendar changed, which is why when New Year’s was celebrated on April 1st for some people. Others made fun of them; thus, speculating the creation of April Fools Day.
New Year’s is celebrated after Christmas and is widely recognized in The United States as the annual ball drop in Times Square, New York. Thousands of people come to the building to watch the drop, and millions of more people watch the drop on T.V.
The New Year’s celebration is typically a holiday where people can enjoy themselves. Some traditions of New Year’s include: inviting family over, kissing as the New Year’s ball drops, fireworks, and so forth.
“In 2019, I expect more blessings and laughter,” said sophomore Blessed Asare.
Many people have New Year’s resolutions where they list what goals they want to achieve for that new year.
“I hope 2019 is fun,” said sophomore Jenny Moreno. “I hope it’s full of good things.”
Not all people believe in New Year’s resolutions, but many people can agree that there are a lot of high expectations and hopes for the upcoming year.
“I didn’t like 2018,” said Senior Ariella Gonzales. “It has been the worst year of my life… a lot of things happened, and more [sic.] that I can remember.”
For some people, reflecting may not always be a bad or sad choice. It depends on the person and their experiences that make a year “bad” or “good.”
“2018 was lit,” said Asare. “When [society] said this year finna be your year — it was, and I am thankful that God gave me that.”
There is a common saying of “new year, new me.” The saying emphasizes that since it’s a new start, there is expected to be new and improved (for the most part) versions of people — according to what many say on social media.
This may reflect some motivated individuals in society, but for the most part, this trend dies out by the third week of January according to trending hashtags on Twitter.
“I don’t believe in the term ‘new year, new me.’ I don’t think that a person can just change within hours of proclaiming it,” said Gonzales. “Most of the time they don’t change.”
Regardless of many opinions, a new year is coming. What the future holds might be unclear, but preparing for all of the emotions might be best.
