With just hours left before we bid good bye to 2022, revelers around the world are enthusiastically waiting for the unfolding of the brand new year, 2023.
Regardless of one's religion and race, a new year is always welcome and celebrated with enthusiasm and optimism.
But what is really the essence of New Year? What does it signify? Does it really bring change into our life?
New Year Resolutions
Funny, yet it's true. Decades ago, during our elementary and high school years, our English teachers then would ask us to write our new year resolutions.
Still savoring the new year fever, we would gladly oblige to our teachers and start writing the things we want to change as many as we could.
These new year resolutions ranging from having crushes and puppy love, studying harder, attending to classes, saving money, and many more.
Visualizing the success of these new year resolutions would make us happy and proud.
Sadly, our burning desire for life's changes fizzles out as time progresses. We can't do about it. Ningas Cogon is part of our culture.
In short, our desire to make changes in our life is short-lived. For some reasons, foremost of which our tenacity and determination die down and failed to realize our new year resolutions. Sadly, this has been the cycle as every new year approaches.
New Year Myth
Contrary to popular belief, a new year never really bring change into our life, rather, it's us who could change the things we want to change anytime of the year.
We can make changes in our life anytime and why need to wait for a new year.
To follow our long-embraced tradition of making changes in our life every new year would just give us pressure and stress.
Besides, failure to realize our new year resolutions would just make us frustrated and stressed.
The true essence of New Year
A new year signifies continuity of the things we have started in life like in our studies, work, and many other things.
A new year has never been a tool for change, nor a start for everything we have started in life.
The new year is also an opportunity to contemplate and reflect on the things that we could have done or make improvement in our life.
It is the time to express our profound gratitude to our loved ones, friends, and to those who have been supportive in our endeavor.
And most of all let's not forget to be grateful to the Almighty for giving us good health, guidance, protection and peace of mind.
Likewise, holidays like Christmas and New Year celebrations are perfect opportunity for get together among Filipino families, their loved ones and friends.
It has been a tradition of the Filipinos to come home wherever they may be to reunite with their family members, relatives and friends.