My first thoughts about December's only entry was: New Year's Eeeeeeve!!! A lot of people might say: Christmaaaass! But I celebrate it on the 7th of January, like all Orthodox Christians. Well, everybody exaggerates about New Year's Eve. The whole "holiday" has turned into a giant parade, where people dress up, get drunk, buy stuff and "go wild" just because it's "New Year's Eve" and well, because society says that in this occasion, all the luxury is allowed.
So, I must admit, I did ask Google for "Christmas exaggeration" and "New Year superlatives", just to see how others have shown their opinion on this subject. I stumbled upon a text written by some girl, describing her "most drunk", "most otherwise intoxicated", "saddest" and "most embarrassing" New Year's Eves.
Vera, the author, ends her piece of writing with "Will tonight be another superlative? God, I hope not."
So why does the world care so much about that one night? No offense to the author, but, there must have been other nights when she was drunker, higher, sadder or more embarrassed. I don't see her mentioning them... Why are the experiences from such a night so important and notable?
My guess is that some people just want to abuse the opportunity given to them, when they are allowed to be "excessive" and when it takes extremes just to blend in. For some others it might be a night when stuff changes. Yay, new calendar! As if it is a big deal!
They might hope for happier this, better that, more of those, improvement in these in the new *insert number here* year.
New Year Resolutions? Is there anyone who has held on to them, truly? Such are few, if any.
Lastly, (yup, the transition makes this sound like a five paragraph essay) there are those who really don't care about the occasion, but society imposes this artificial fever on them, so they are expected to "gather up with friends", "turn the music up", "kill the booze" or whatever, and unwilling to be seen as freaks they just succumb, put on a fancier shirt or skirt, go out, (or in, wherever the celebration is) and pretend it's not just an ordinary party, on an ordinary Friday, with ordinary people, ordinary food, few extra drinks or an occasional first-time-drunk-cos-it's-cool, who has spent the few hours of the New Year in the bathroom, spilling his/her guts out.
The aforementioned text was written on 31 Dec 2003, about 8 years ago. I didn't notice this at first. The text seemed as if it could've been written this same day. Some stuff doesn't change, I guess.
Maybe people do need such a thing, just to let all that extra energy out (if they have it, which is debatable). The concept of New Year may succeed at convincing people to be cheerful, that better times are coming, that they'll get a better job or their crush will start liking them back. It is a time when people are not only allowed to, but encouraged to exaggerate. Otherwise, reality might finally manage to beat us up.
