Is New Year’s Just Another Holiday?: On a Christian approach

The fireworks lit up the sky. My sixteen year old self wondered at them, at the colors, the shapes, and yikes! The brutally loud sounds. My family gathered around as the clock struck midnight and we rang in the new year. 

Even that night, I was a bit confused about the full meaning of the holiday. It often seemed to me that there was little significance to it all, an excuse to add another party to the season.

Yet, as I continued to reflect on this matter, a truth became overwhelmingly clear to me: New Years has a special importance, yet only if we uphold it. Traditions are determined by individuals who form larger groups, are they not? These fickle yet steady things are at the very core of our society and seem to remain a pillar of the groups we subscribe to. Traditions are important to religions - in Christianity, even the early writings of the Torah depict the centrality of holidays to their calendar and annual ceremonies - but also to any larger group. 

Still, therein lies a choice- either to make this New Year’s Day meaningful or to treat it as an excuse to party, get drunk or even just for the kids to stay up past their bedtime. Viewing it this way is reducing a chance for special reflection, as many use this day in order to turn to the New Year with renewed hope.  

There seems to be a rush to add meaning to this holiday by making New Year's Resolutions that we all know will barely last. Oh, those infamous goals people set! A  YouGov poll found that “One third (34%) of US adult citizens plan to make New Year’s resolutions or set a goal for 2024”, data journalist Jamie Ballard writes, however, that these seem to yield seemingly parse results. 

What if we changed things? 

What if… bear with me now as I dream… New Year's Resolutions produced real change, the kind that lasts?

Wouldn’t this “little” holiday become much more impactful if we viewed it that way? Before we all go off to have fun and surround ourselves with loved ones as we count down the seconds to the New Year, what if we all sat down, reflected on our lives over this past year and set goals for the New Year. 

Oh, but that leads me to the next problem, something to which I have often fallen prey. I open my journal and list the many goals I would like to attain. The result is usually several pages of good-intentioned solutions to problems in an effort to make my life utterly and completely perfect. 

Yes, yes, good intentions are wonderful. But, wouldn’t New Years have a much more profound impact if we made realistic goals that we were passionate about? Can you imagine how much of a change this one “little” holiday could have in our lives then? 

That being said, it’s also important to note that while the desire to better yourself and your life is good, moderation and motivation are key. Setting a laundry list of goals that you are not passionate about is quite ineffective compared to setting a short list of goals that are realistic and that you are motivated to accomplish. While you may be able to think of a long list of goals that would be awesome and effective if they are followed through with, what are the chances of you actually following through on them? As the saying goes, “Less is more.” 

As Christians, these goals present a unique opportunity to take a hard look at our relationship with God and reconsider our priorities. When Jesus was talking about earthly worries such as food and clothes, he added, in Matthew 6: 32-33, “For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Shouldn’t our goals reflect our priorities and be concentrated on pursuing God and growing closer to Him?

I do not intend to say that non-spiritual New Year’s resolutions are bad, or that we should only make highly spiritual goals, just that the resolutions that we make should reflect our priorities, and as Christians, our priority should be God. I’m not saying that it always is- because if anyone believed that every Christian always lived with God as their first priority, even “the good ones”, whatever that means, they would be sorely disappointed. However, living with God as our number one priority should be our goal, as Proverbs 3:5-6 reminds us: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Should our New Year's Resolutions not reflect the values found in these verses?

So no, New Year’s isn’t just another holiday: it is what we make it, and we can make it a turning point of the year if we acknowledge its importance and celebrate it with purpose and intentionality. There is great potential in New Year’s resolutions if we redefine them in a productive, more powerful way.