NEW YEAR:HOW DO PEOPLE CELEBRATE IT

Every one of us celebrates New Year’s Day. We actually celebrate it on the 1^st day of January. However, to Chinese, they begin their new year in some other time. It begins between the 21^st of January to 19^th of February. Jewish people will also begin their new year in autumn. Muslim people have also their own date of celebrating New Year. Why is this so? Why do we have different dates of celebrating New Year’s Day?

We do not have the same date of Celebrating New Year since there are many ways people would arrange the calendar. The Chinese calendar was arranged differently from Muslims. The Jewish calendar was different from others and so on.

Why do we need to use calendars?

It is simply because we need to measure time so we can be able to organize our own activities. These calendars are fixed and divided into years, months, weeks and days.

Accordingly, people from the past who are farming used calendars to help them establish what is the best time for them to plant crops or when to till the soil.

Some people adjust their calendar so that important holidays like New Year will occur in the right season where they think they can celebrate it victoriously.

How do we celebrate New Year’s Day?

It is already a tradition for many to celebrate New Year’ Day by preparing foods for the family usually for dinner just before January 1 will arrive. Some will organize an event or program.

To some Churches, members are going to have a night mass while waiting for the 1^st day of the year.

To the Chinese, they begin their new year with a parade. They dance down the street as they are featuring costumes of mythical creatures like dragons.

At exactly 12 o’clock in the morning of the first day of the year, most of us are having a firework display. I ask one elder in our town if what does it mean by the fireworks during New Year’s Eve. He answered, “fireworks are just a symbol of having a prosperous year that comes.”

No matter how we celebrate New Year’s Day, we should always be thankful to God for giving us another year of living in this World. Wishing you the best year this coming 2017.