Thinking about New Year

I have been asked "What are you doing for New Year's?" a few times too many this week, and while I sometimes gave a generic response, the question started to nag me at some point. I found myself wondering, is it really necessary for New Year's Day to be on January 1st? If I don't have a traditional New Year's celebration plan, or resolution like everyone else, do I have to wait another year to make one? Or what if my day on January 1st doesn't go as planned or I struggle to keep my resolutions?

That’s when I reached out to Mr. Google, and came across this picture on the website of Britannica.

Looking at the orbit of our planet around our star, I learnt that perhaps January 1st is a close proxy for Perihelion, the day when Earth is closest to the Sun, about two weeks after the December solstice. In 2023, the perihelion is actually expected to occur on January 4th at 21:47. On this day, our planet would be the closest to Sun, the margin would be about 4.99 million km, about 3% lower than the day we are the farthest from the Sun (Aphelion). Depending on how you view this, not so significant right?

My realization from this was, when we celebrate "New Year" does not really matter. New Year's Day is almost an arbitrary point on Earth's orbit around the Sun. It could be any moment, on any day or hour, that we have completed a full circle around the Sun. While I'm not trying to diminish the importance of New Year's resolutions and celebrations, I do believe that every moment and every day that we are alive is a celebration. Every day is the start of another new year.

So whether you look back in the rear view mirror and think about the path ahead today or do that on any other day of your own choice, it is the same. My message to myself is, "every day is a Happy New Year and I do not want to reserve the day to party or to rejoice or to reinvent myself or to introspect just on January 1st."

Thank you for reading, and please do share your comments and reflections.?