Every Day Is New Year's Day

Every day is New Year's Day (Carolyn Arends from the CD 'Feel Free')

There is nothing different about New Year's Day.  January 1, 2009 is, in any objective sense, the same as every other twenty-four hour period.  It is one midnight, one dawn, one noon, one sunset.  At the next midnight, another identical cycle will begin.  The twenty-four hours we designate 'January 1, 2009' are simply another day, another rotation of the earth on its axis, and 1/365th of a revolution around the sun.  No special planetary alignment, no astrological or astronomical event: the designation of any day as the beginning of a New Year is entirely arbitrary.  We made it up.

The fact that we made up which day is New Year's Day means that any day could be New Year's Day.  The modern calendar begins the New Year on January 1, but there are (of course) other ways of counting the years.  The Chinese New Year will begin on February 9, 2009 (the year of the rat).  The next Jewish New Year will begin on September 18, 2009.  The Christian church began the New Year with the first Sunday of Advent (November 30, 2008).   Companies large and small often choose to have a fiscal year, beginning their corporate year in June, for example.  The point is that any day can be New Year's Day and if any day can be New Year's Day, then every day can be New Year's Day.   It's up to you to make every day your New Year's Day.

For my New Year's day, rather than making the usual set of resolutions (lose weight, exercise more, less TV - more reading, etc.), I think this year I will follow the advice of Carolyn Arends (whose song I quoted above) and make one resolution.  My one resolution is to make every day New Year's Day.   

Arends writes 

This will be my resolution: every day is New Year's day.  

This could start a revolution.  Every day is...   

One more chance to start all over 

One more chance to change and grow 
One more chance to grab a hold of grace 
And never let it go

In 2009, I resolve to make every day as New Year's Day;

I hope that you do the same; and 

I pray that God gives us all the strength to keep this resolution.

Peace