New Year Resolutions

It is the holiday season in nations celebrating Christmas and the Gregorian New Year. This week, Christmas will be celebrated, while next week New Year 2026 will be observed with much fanfare. Nepal has a majority of Hindus but Christmas and New Year are celebrated as a cultural event, with much enthusiasm among the youths. Social media brims with holiday vibes. Hollywood, along with Netflix and Hallmark, releases a string of Christmassy movies to spread the holiday cheer. Children are told that Santa will bring presents laying them below the Christmas tree. 

And it is the season to decorate trees, bake goodies, exchange greetings and gifts and most importantly, celebrate among friends, relatives and families with hearty meals and warm get-togethers.  In Nepal, the winter holiday season, combining Christmas with New Year, is celebrated with zest. Events such as concerts are organised. Then there are winter fests where people can shop, tuck in foods and participate in fun games and activities. Christmas is a public holiday in Nepal, a much-awaited time for Christians. 

It is also a time to count down days until the New Year, which signals both the end and the beginning, as one year concludes and the other year beckons. It is like we blinked our eyes and a year has already gone by with innumerable memories and timelines. As 2025 comes to an end, it can be a time to reflect and introspect. How was 2025 for us? Did it bring joy and happiness or pain and sorrow or perhaps a little mix of both? This is also when we can tally up how well we kept up with the resolutions made a year ago. 

Again, it might be a mix of wins and losses, but fear not, as 2026 will present another opportunity to be the best self yet. In other words, we can clean our slate and take a brand new chance to rewrite our narrative more optimistically. We may have stumbled and fallen but the beauty of life is that there are second chances. It might be daunting to approach the New Year with over-ambitious, aspirational and lofty dreams but we are humans after all. 

To err is human and it is also human to shed tears over our failures and gather up courage to redefine our fate. It is human to wish for greater things in life, which is what the New Year is all about. It is time to recalibrate the past year and take steps towards our goals in the coming year. Resolutions could be either practical or lofty but each of our resolutions reflects our potential and the courage to achieve them.

 Now might be the time to deeply introspect on our lives. Were we kind to people in our lives in the past year? Did we do our best in our studies, work or family life? Did we pause to stop and take in the beauty of life, whether it is quiet walks in nature, taking in the scenic landscapes, trying out a recipe or a hobby, connecting or simply appreciating what life has to offer to our loved ones? If not, let us pledge to do so this coming year.