Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve, and I am wondering how Anne is going to celebrate. Last year, she organized a Zoom party to enjoy a virtual concert performance, so I imagine she has something interesting planned.
“What are you doing for New Year's, Anne?” I inquired and was surprised when she replied, “Spending a quiet evening with my husband.”
“This is a good moment for us to reflect on the past year, especially what we are grateful for, and look forward to the new year with positive intentions.
“When I was a child, my parents stayed home on New Year’s Eve. I am not sure they always stayed up till midnight, but I do know they followed some interesting traditions. My mother would take a pot and a wooden spoon out onto the front porch and “bang the pot” to scare away evil spirits; she would also sing Auld Lang Syne.
“I didn’t understand the words as she sang the Scots language version of Auld Lang Syne, but it always brought a lump to my throat and made me want to cry.
“It wasn’t until much later when I attended a funeral where we were given the English translation that I understood its melancholy tribute to times gone by, the sadness of parting and the nostalgia for “drinking a cup of kindness” with an old friend.
“On New Year’s day, my parents would visit my Scottish grandmother to preserve the Hogmanay traditions. A dark-haired man as “first footer” (first person to step into your home in the New Year) would bring good luck to the household, and they always took salt to bring good health.
“Over the years, most of these family traditions fell by the wayside, and yet, Auld Lang Syne is sung at midnight on New Year’s Eve and at nearly every funeral. It is a toast to the past and a welcome to the future.
“It still brings a lump to my throat and makes me want to cry when I hear it; brings up memories of my own dear friends from years gone by who live on in my heart.
“As New Year’s Day dawns, we have an opportunity to start again. This is an opportunity we have every day.
"We cannot change the past, but we can take the lessons learned, start from where we are and write a new story. As Anne Shirley said in Anne of Green Gables, "Tomorrow is another day, all brand new and no mistakes.””
Isn’t that a great idea! Let’s all join Anne in starting each day of 2022 with optimism and enthusiasm, as it too is “all brand new and no mistakes!”