The phrase is on everyone’s lips. We say it casually everywhere, to anyone, ‘Happy New Year!’ It’s a pleasantry that people have exchanged for countless years, in so many cultures and on a variety of dates. I think that most of us are genuine in our expression of good wishes to our friends and family members, to our neighbours and to the strangers we meet in grocery stores and other public places. But we sometimes say it without much thought; at least I do.

Observances of the New Year exist in some form in most cultures and religions, and not always on the first day of the year according to our modern Gregorian calendar. For the Jewish people Rosh Hashanah occurs in September or October; Chinese New Year can be in January or February. No matter when it is celebrated, most people prepare for the coming of the New Year. Housecleaning is done, debts are paid, and forgiveness is asked and granted before the celebration can begin. When it does, there might be symbolic foods and other portents for a prosperous New Year. The food is apples dipped in honey, for our Jewish neighbours, symbolizing the hope for a sweet year to come. For our Chinese friends, extra-long noodles extend best wishes for a long life.

My father’s family came from Scotland, the birthplace of Auld Lang Syne. There Hogmanay (New Year’s Eve) often includes the custom of first footing, where the first person who crosses the threshold of a home after midnight on the first day of the year is the indication of how the next year will turn out. The ideal first footer is a tall, dark man bearing food, drink and fuel. I understand that having enough to eat and drink and a warm home would be something to hope for in a cold climate, and a strong man would be a protector. I used to wonder why the tall man needed to be dark haired until someone suggested that, many years ago, a blond man appearing at your home might just be a Viking raider. Then it made sense.

What makes sense for us, as Vincentians, for the year of 2017?

It makes good sense to remember who we are and what our traditions are. We are lay Catholics who serve Christ in His poor, with love, respect, justice and joy. We show our love for God in action, as we leave our own comfortable lives to do as Blessed Frederic said, “Go out to the poor.” Vincentians still do this every day, in countries all around the world. St. Vincent de Paul advised his followers, “Let us love God, but let it be by the work of our hands and the sweat of our brows.” That is the Vincentian way.

Another important thing to remember is that our real new year began on the first Sunday of Advent. We are now in Year A of the three year cycle of readings for Sunday liturgy. This year we share the Matthew story, the story of the Church told from the perspective of a Jew, not a Gentile. I really like the Gospel of Matthew. The author starts with Jesus’ family tree, connecting the prophesies of the Messiah, and gives us one of the two infancy narratives in the Bible. The book ends with Jesus comforting words, “Lo, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

I know I will continue making home visits in the coming year. I think I will also spend more time with Matthew’s gospel in 2017.

Happy New Year! May God bless us and those we serve!
Denise