The Minister’s Viewpoint  –  New Year
The Minister’s Viewpoint – New Year

The Minister’s Viewpoint – New Year

Around the world, different cultures have their own traditions for welcoming the New Year.

At the stroke of midnight, the Chinese  open up all the windows and doors of their homes, to let out the old year and to open up their space to the fresh night air of the new year with its new opportunities.

In Japan, people dress in new clothes and decorate their houses with bamboo and pine branches – symbols of long life.

The Danes jump off chairs at the stroke of midnight, jumping into the New Year, not lumbering or loitering their way into it.

Some Italian villages have a clear-out. On New Year’s Eve as the night deepens and it grows closer to midnight, traffic on the streets comes to a standstill. Soon there is no traffic and no pedestrians. Even the police take cover.  Then at the stroke of midnight the windows of the houses open up, and to the sounds of music, fireworks and laughter, people begin to throw things out the open windows. This is ‘Gardyloo’ with a vengeance!

They throw out old crockery they no longer want, and long detested ornaments. Furniture they have looked at and detested for years is tossed out the window. Tasteless presents rain down on the pavements. Personal items that are reminders of difficult or bad experiences in the past year, are enthusiastically dumped.

Perhaps the Italians may have something here. There are times in our lives when we need to throw out the old and make room for the new. Now is the time to dump the dark memories of past hurts: slights, frustrations, failures, disappointments, grudges, anger and all the other damaging things we’ve carried around for so long.

Start the New Year with a clean slate. Remember God is ‘making all things new.’

Every blessing for 2012.
Alex