Happy New Year?

So finally the new year is here! But after all these years this is the first time I have actually thought about what the big deal is even about. When midnight struck people started to honk their horns, this was followed by playing of the dholl and yelling out BURRRRRRAH with loud music in the background. I’m sure they have their own reasons to do what they’re doing. Because there’s always a reason behind everything isn’t there?

It looks like it's just another ਭੇਡ ਚਾਲ. But is there something really worth celebrating? Beneath all this hype there’s really doesn't seem much to celebrate. Maybe it’s just a false hope like when someone starts out writing and sees a blank new sheet of paper, looks inviting clear and clean and full of possibilities. But slowly after a few seconds neat writing gets messier and messier until halfway down the page it becomes illegible mess of scribbles.

There’s actually a lot to worry about for an earthling then just another 12:00am. People have bombs flying over their heads and don’t know if they’ll survive through the night. Cold metal bars separate millions of innocents from freedom; many waiting or the next round of torture. Someone must have died of starvation, or aids this minute. A homeless person might have just suffered frostbite in a dark alley. Someone somewhere might have been struck by a drunk driver in celebration-mode. Not to mention the ones who must have lose a finger, a limb, an eye to a firecracker prematurely gone BANG! Now would they have anything to celebrate?

The idea of concocting New Year’s resolutions and seeing the whole 12 months full of opportunity laying there like the white blank page must seem promising. It still doesn’t demand millions of dollars wasted just to 'welcome' the New Year.

Gurdwarai should stop this madness. New Years has traditionally been one of the three days when people head out to their local gurdwara without fail, even the ones who go only when they get a wedding card. For the past few years gurdwara managements have put on a fireworks spectacle as a guaranteed golak filler.

And all those who were wished a text- messaged ‘HAPPY New Year’ good luck with that too! Has anyone ever had a happy year? If this really worked there would never be a sad person alive with many ‘happy *****days’ wished every month.

But for me New Year’s is still a few months away. Now celebration on Vasakhi eve, the real beginning of the New Year and the day of the Khalsa revelation does have great meaning behind it and is a day perfectly fine to go crazy on because that gift to the world in 1699 really does justify a big celebration...