Two thousand fourteen, 2014 or MMXIV. No matter how we might write it, it still comes out the same. The results are in and no matter what we think of the 12 months past, 2014 is over and out.
There are, of course, all kinds of years besides this one – fiscal years, legislative years, religious years, academic years and other kinds of astronomical years – but the Gregorian calendar that most of us follow in our everyday lives gives us the opportunity to believe in a fresh start.
Obviously, that was not the intent of the scholars who, under the authority of Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, refined the solar calendar developed by Julius Caesar many centuries earlier. What they were trying to do – and this is a gross simplification – was to establish more firmly when Easter should be celebrated.
Still it’s nice to think of each new year as a clean slate of sorts or something of a do-over as we ponder mistakes that we vow not to repeat and pledge to build on the good we might have done.
It is also why New Year’s Eve is such the celebration. It’s like a whistle stop between trains, a chance to check the baggage of the previous 12 months at the door and to contemplate honestly where we want to go and whether we want to take all that luggage with us.
Whether 2015 is a better year than the past one will depend in large part on circumstances beyond our control. For our part, however, we need to carry the positive forward and leave that excess baggage behind.
Here’s to a happy and prosperous New Year.
There are, of course, all kinds of years besides this one – fiscal years, legislative years, religious years, academic years and other kinds of astronomical years – but the Gregorian calendar that most of us follow in our everyday lives gives us the opportunity to believe in a fresh start.
Obviously, that was not the intent of the scholars who, under the authority of Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, refined the solar calendar developed by Julius Caesar many centuries earlier. What they were trying to do – and this is a gross simplification – was to establish more firmly when Easter should be celebrated.
Still it’s nice to think of each new year as a clean slate of sorts or something of a do-over as we ponder mistakes that we vow not to repeat and pledge to build on the good we might have done.
It is also why New Year’s Eve is such the celebration. It’s like a whistle stop between trains, a chance to check the baggage of the previous 12 months at the door and to contemplate honestly where we want to go and whether we want to take all that luggage with us.
Whether 2015 is a better year than the past one will depend in large part on circumstances beyond our control. For our part, however, we need to carry the positive forward and leave that excess baggage behind.
Here’s to a happy and prosperous New Year.