Please, Stop Saying “Happy New Year”

Here’s to a meaningful, fulfilling 2025

graphic by the author

I have a request. Please, stop saying “Happy New Year.”

I know. Old habits die hard. The words spill out, almost involuntarily. But, seriously, just stop. Put a gag in it.

I know you mean it. And I know what you mean when you say it. But, in spite of your good intentions, I don’t want to hear it. I’ve gotten to the point where your wish for my happiness, as sincere as it may be, is bound to backfire. I simply won’t know how to respond.

Why? Partially, because it’s a trigger. It reminds me that, year after year, I’ve treated this arbitrary date, this turning of the calendar page, as a fresh start. Midnight, January first has always been an imaginary dividing line between the pleasures, joys, accomplishments, struggles, and disappointments of the previous 12 months and the lofty goals and high expectations of the 12 months to come.

But, as Bono wails in U2’s anthemic “New Year’s Day,” aside from the numerals assigned to it, nothing actually changes.

This attitude may sound cynical. (Admittedly, I might come off like a sourpuss sometimes.) But, believe me, I am not a curmudgeon. I love people. I’m usually friendly, affable, convivial. Ask any of the check-out ladies at the Grocery Outlet.