What's the Big Deal About Tonight, Anyway?

Oh, we human beings cherish endings and beginnings. From baby showers to funerals, housewarmings to homecomings, and of course to the hoopla around the changing of the year, the celebrations for the milestones in our lives show us just how important these events are.

But why?

Many of the traditions around endings and beginnings have been in place for hundreds of years, maybe even thousands of years, and in some cases far more than thousands of years. Around 100,000 years ago humans started intentionally burying their dead. In the century or so BCE, the Romans started celebrating birthdays, though usually only men’s birthdays and then only the big milestones, like 50 and 60 years. In the Renaissance period, families with wealth and nobility began celebrating birthdays amongst themselves. The concept of children’s birthday parties developed in Germany in the 1800’s and the brave new world of consumer products had a fresh itch to scratch. The origins of tonight’s changing-of-the-year festivities were first seen in Mesopotamia, China, and Egypt in the 2,000 – 3,000 BCE era. Champaign came along much later, though hangovers were probably common way back in the earliest annual celebrations, which often lasted a couple of weeks.  

Any time a thing – any sort of thing – becomes established practice for a couple of generations, it becomes part of the fabric of life. People stop wondering why it’s done – it’s simply done. Our brains are designed to create habitual behaviors and then do those habitual behaviors without too much thought about them. Think of your morning routine – chances are you do the same things in the same order each morning. That’s your brain being efficient – it’s figured out a pattern and simply runs the pattern for you daily.

For the same reason, the “out with the old, in with the new” rituals go on, year after year, for most people. If what you’re doing works for you, great! If you’d like to re-wire some of your brain’s patterns to create better patterns going forward, here are three episodes of the world’s second-shortest podcast, Wellbeing Wisdom Tiny Bites, to help you do just that.

               Need a process to identify areas for self-improvement? Here’s a Tiny Bite for that!

               Want help putting a tough ending into perspective? Here’s a Tiny Bite for that!

               What’s the one great habit to take into the new year? Here’s a Tiny Bite for that!

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If you’re in Naples, Italy or Johannesburg, South Africa as you read this, stay indoors tonight, as local customs include literally throwing unwanted items, including appliances and furniture, out of windows. If you’re in Denmark, don’t worry about the sound of plates being hurled at your front door, shattering and littering your doorstep. The more plates you have broken on your door, the more luck you’re supposed to have in the new year. If you’re in Greece, be sure to have a pomegranate ready to smash on your doorstep at the stroke of midnight to bring your home and family good luck and abundance in the coming year.

No matter how you celebrate the ending of 2024 and the dawning of 2025, I wish you peace, prosperity, and as much fun as you can possibly cram into this coming year!

Wags,
Sandy Weaver
The Voice of Wagaliciousness

PS...want more? Subscribe to the Mind, Body, Soul Sessions podcast, a weekly mental spa treatment for your total self! #wagalicious #leader #lawofattraction #personaldevelopment #mentalwellbeing