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New Year Essay for Students in English

New Year's Eve is a joyous festival celebrated all over the world. According to the Gregorian calendar, it marks the start of a new year (which contains 12 months and January 1 is counted as the first day of a new year). People all over the world begin making plans for new year's resolutions and preparations one month in advance.

New Year's Eve is a universal celebration that transcends cultural and caste boundaries, bringing joy to people worldwide. Celebrated with enthusiasm, people of all ages engage in various activities. Many schools and educational institutions observe a winter break, starting from Christmas Eve and extending until New Year's (January 1). The significance of New Year's lies in its representation of a fresh start, ushering in happiness as people bid farewell to the past year. This festive occasion symbolises hope and optimism, uniting individuals in the shared anticipation of new beginnings and the possibilities the upcoming year holds.  

The New Year is a time for people to put all of their bad experiences behind them and take a positive step into the future. Everyone wishes for their own and their loved ones' happiness, health, and prosperity in the coming New Year. For children, a new year is incomplete without three things: a Christmas tree, a New Year's Eve party with new dresses, and the required New Year's essay as part of their winter vacation homework).

How do People Around the World Celebrate?

A unique custom has been followed these days in every household – a New Year tree. In order to define this, it is nothing but the Christmas tree that gets decorated during the festive season and year-end. All the family members take part in decorating the Christmas tree/ New Year tree with various kinds of toys, bells, stars, candies, mistletoe, and colourful fairy lights.

New Year’s day is followed by different other customs and traditions in every household across the globe. Each culture celebrates this day in its own unique way. Some people start planning for a mini-vacation beforehand while some plan to spend quality time with their loved ones. The preparation begins with buying gifts, decorating houses, and purchasing new clothes.

India's New Year's Eve Celebration 

Everyone in India celebrates New Year on different days depending on their religion. Nonetheless, due to the influence of Western civilization, most people now celebrate New Year's Day on January 1 st as well. 

The advent of the New Year in India is marked by vibrant and diverse celebrations that resonate with cultural richness. It is a time when people extend heartfelt congratulations to their friends and family, sharing the joy of a fresh beginning. Hindus, in particular, embark on a tradition of thorough house cleaning, adorning their homes with saffron flags that symbolize auspiciousness.

The religious fervor escalates as bhajans echo in temples, creating a serene atmosphere. Special prayers are offered, fostering a spiritual ambiance across various religious sites. The New Year becomes a canvas for cultural expression, with events like Kavi Sammelan, Bhajan Sandhya, and Kalash Yatra captivating audiences in different locations. These festivities underscore the unity in diversity as India welcomes the promise of a new year with enthusiasm and reverence. 

January 1 as New Year’s Day

The early Roman Calendar has 10 months and 304 days, and each new year begins on the spring equinox; according to tradition, it was created by Romulus, the founder of Rome, in the eighth century B.C. Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome, later added the months of Januarius and Februarius to the Roman Calendar in 1713 B.C.

Over the centuries, the calendar has been out of sync with the Sun. The emperor Caesar then decided to solve the mystery in 46 B.C. by consulting with the most prominent astronomers and mathematicians of the time. Caesar introduced the Julian calendar, which was very similar to the modern Gregorian calendar, which is still used by the majority of countries around the world.

Caesar established January 1 as the first day of the year, partly to honour Janus, the Roman god of beginnings (whose two faces allowed him to seem back to the past and forward into the longer term which was a part of his reforms). To commemorate the New Year, the Romans exchanged gifts and offered sacrifices to God Janus. They also went to loud parties and adorned their homes with laurel branches.

Traditions for the New Year

Many countries celebrate New Year from the evening of December 31 (also known as New Year's Eve) until the early hours of January 1 st , often with several meals and snacks to bring good fortune in the coming year. Grapes are known as a symbol of hope for the coming months and are thus used by people in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries.

Legumes, such as lentils in Italy and black-eyed peas in the southern United States, have been a traditional New Year's dish in many countries and places because they are thought to resemble coins and future financial success. Pork is also a popular New Year's dish in some countries, including Austria, Hungary, Cuba, and Portugal, and it is believed that pigs represent progress and prosperity.

Rice pudding with an almond hidden inside it is served on New Year's Eve in many countries, including Sweden and Norway. It is said that whoever finds the almond will be blessed with 12 months of good fortune. In contrast, ring-shaped cakes and pastries are served during the New Year in the Netherlands, Greece, Mexico, and other countries. It denotes that the year has completed a full circle.

The Importance of the New Year

New Year's Eve is like a big, happy party that everyone in the world joins! It's a special time when we say goodbye to the old year and welcome the brand-new one with excitement. The New Year is like a magical reset button; it encourages us to start fresh, try new things, and bring more happiness into our lives.

In the New Year, we look back at the things we did in the past year and learn from them. If we make any mistakes, it's okay because the New Year gives us a chance to do better. We make promises to ourselves, called resolutions, to be kind, work hard, or learn something new. It's like setting goals for ourselves.

The New Year is a bit like a festival, but instead of lights and decorations, it's full of positive vibes and energy. This energy helps us tackle challenges and reach our goals. So, New Year's Eve is not just a date on the calendar; it's a special time that fills us with enthusiasm and makes our lives even more exciting!

New Year’s Short Essay

On New Year's Day, everyone puts on new clothes and congratulates one another. On the occasion of the New Year, many different types of programmes are held in schools. The event of the New Year retains various fireworks, dance competitions, singing competitions, and so on. At New Year's, the market is ablaze with colour, with colourful lights, and other decorative items adorning every surface. On the occasion of the New Year, some countries have a state holiday, so people go on picnics. The New Year brings with it new hopes; we should always be happy in any situation, good or bad.

On this day, everyone reflects on the significant events of the previous year and evaluates the circumstances under which the entire year was spent. And, to make amends for the shortcomings of the previous year, take a new oath on the auspicious occasion of the New Year and get involved in doing that work for the coming year with full hard work and dedication. The Western Civilization's New Year was celebrated in Babylon 4000 years ago, but it was held on March 21 st at the time. However, since the introduction of the Julian calendar, New Year's Day has been celebrated on January 1 st every year. Every year has 365 days, at the end of which the New Year is celebrated with great zeal. Because of the influence of Western civilization throughout the world, everyone now celebrates January 1 as New Year's Day.

FAQs on New Year Essay

1. Why is New Year's Eve considered special?

New Year's Eve is special because it marks the end of the old year and the beginning of a fresh one. It's a time for reflection, celebration, and setting new goals.

2. What do people do on New Year's Eve?

People celebrate New Year's Eve by organizing parties, sending greetings to friends and family, and participating in various events. It's also a time for making resolutions for self-improvement.

3. Why is the New Year compared to a festival?

The New Year is compared to a festival because, like festivals, it brings joy and a sense of new beginnings. People often celebrate with enthusiasm, similar to how they celebrate festivals.

4. How do people prepare for the New Year?

Preparations for the New Year often include cleaning homes, decorating, and planning special activities. Many also reflect on the past year and make plans for the future.

5. Why do people make New Year's resolutions?

Making resolutions is a way for people to set goals and make positive changes in their lives. It symbolizes a fresh start and a commitment to self-improvement in the coming year.

Unpacking “New Year, New Me”

This article is part of the Unpacking Culture series in which we examine a well-known axiom and weigh any true or positive aspects of it against any negative or misleading connotations of the phrase.

Resolutions Gone Wrong

I like to make New Year’s resolutions as much as anyone. I declare with many Americans every January, “New year, new me.” My resolutions, like most, surround my physical and spiritual health, as well as investing more time in things that matter (like family) and avoiding spending time on things that don’t (like my iPhone screen).

Studies show that almost 40% of American adults make New Year’s resolutions. 1 We’re all captivated by the flip of the calendar and a fresh start. New beginnings pull like gravity.

Enough about Me

This book calls women to look away from new self-improvement strategies in order to find the abundant life and joy God offers them in Jesus.

Exercising more is the top New Year’s resolution for Americans, with 48% of resolution makers setting that as their primary goal. The next top five resolutions are eating healthier, losing weight, saving more money, pursuing a career ambition, and spending less time on social media.

While our collective declaration of “New year, new me” is powerful on January 1, it loses strength and steam quickly. The second Friday in January is known as Quitters Day because so many of us give up by then. Only 9% of us successfully carry our goals to completion.

What’s True behind “New Year, New Me”

The desire to remake ourselves is universal because, being made in the image of God (Gen. 1:27), his truth resonates with us. It’s innate within us. And especially here in the US, where our culture and values have been historically shaped by Christian influences, we have a collective worldview that borrows biblical truth. Here are three examples of Biblical truth hidden inside “New year, new me.”

We understand our lives are limited . Americans declare, “YOLO!” You only live once. We know and feel the brevity of life. Whether we acknowledge it or not, that’s a biblical truth. James puts it this way, “What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” (James 4:14). Our God has impressed on each of us that this life is short, and we each only have one.

We want to spend our lives well . Living in the reality that our lives are brief, we want to make them count. While many Americans fall short of wanting to make their lives count for the sake of Jesus, most sense that they’re meant to make an impact, to help others, or to somehow leave a mark on this world. The psalmist says, “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom” (Ps. 90:12). Whether for God’s glory or our own, we want to spend our lives well.

We understand we have a purpose . We ask even very young children, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” As adults we ask one another, “What do you do?” There’s a universal awareness between us that we have a purpose, that we’re all meant to be busy about something that matters. While the non-believer may not acknowledge it, we Christians know “we are [God’s] workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).

These truths are universal because they are from the very heart of the Creator who made us. But when we separate these truths from the foundation of our Maker, who also desires to be our Savior, it leads to destruction. Untethered from God in heaven, the drive behind “New year, new me” leads to the idolatry of self.

“New Year, New Me” in the Age of Self

In the 21st Century we claim we are self-made and self-sufficient. Everything from online college degrees to bathroom renovations is DIY—do it yourself. For most of us, when we say, “New year, new me,” we mean that we will pursue self-improvement via self-help and self-control. Pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps is as American as apple pie. But when our New Year’s resolutions are rooted only in ourselves, we discover some tough truths about our human condition. Here are just three, which reveal the flimsiness of depending on ourselves rather than on the God who made us.

We find we are finite . Humans are limited creatures. We don’t have endless motivation, energy, and will. Everyone who has ever made a resolution has hit a limit. In our own strength, we simply cannot go on forever. It takes more than sheer force of will to make a real change.

To pursue the good life outside of Christ is futile.

We find we need infinite affirmation . When we determine our own identity, our own goals, our own purpose—when our values are self-made and not rooted in something outside of ourselves—we must hold ourselves up and convince ourselves that we are enough. When we insist on being self-made, the source and supply of our motivation must also be self-made. We depend on endless affirmation to know we are doing it right.

We ultimately defeat ourselves . The self-help cycle of self-empowerment fueled by self-praise ultimately proves self-defeating. The primary reason people give for failing in their New Year’s resolutions is losing motivation. To be self-dependent is just too much. We are finite and fallen and fragile. While it may feel like we have what it takes on January 1st, we all know from personal experience that our own determination runs out. Self-help ultimately leads to self-defeat.

Being Made Truly New

Desiring to become a new version of ourselves is not a twenty-first century idea but a biblical idea. It’s precisely what happens when we embrace the gospel. The apostle Paul says, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).

Jesus loves us and gave himself for us so that we might become new creations, reconciled to our Father in heaven. Created by God and for God, it is his kindness and mercy alone that make us new from the inside out. “For by grace [we] have been saved through faith. And this is not [our] own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8–9).

The process of being made new is initiated and completed by our Maker and Savior—not you or me. Our God is at work within us, “for those who love God, all things work together for good for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Rom. 8:28–29). The Lord is growing us and changing us, making us more like Jesus every single day.

This New Year’s Day, let’s not settle for “New year, new me.” Let’s not settle for self-will and self-help and self-control. Let’s not settle for quick fixes and superficial changes because New Year’s resolutions will not satisfy or sustain if they are rooted in ourselves. Rather, Christ in us is the hope of glory (Col. 1:27).

Here’s what’s true this New Year’s Day and every other day: you and I and all humans were made by God and for God (Col. 1:17). Therefore, we will not find purpose, peace, or satisfying soul-deep change outside of God. He is the source of our lives, the goal of our lives, and the substance of our lives. To pursue the good life outside of Christ is futile.

By all means, “New year, new me” this year and every year. But may the new versions of you and me be truly new. Together let’s pray, God in heaven, make us new, day by day, more and more in your image, for your glory. Help us to settle for nothing less .

• All research in this article comes from https://insideoutmastery.com/new-years-resolution-statistics/

Jen Oshman is the author of Enough about Me: Find Lasting Joy in the Age of Self .

Jen Oshman has been in women’s ministry for over two decades as a missionary and pastor’s wife on three continents. She’s the mother of four daughters, the author of Enough about Me: Find Lasting Joy in the Age of Self , and the host of All Things , a podcast about cultural events and trends. Her family currently resides in Colorado, where they planted Redemption Parker, an Acts29 church.

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Each year, many women experience a surge of determination and set New Year’s resolutions in hopes of becoming the best version of themselves. The new year, with its promise of fresh beginnings, often brings about a level of introspection, leading us to confidently proclaim the popular mantra: “New year, new me.” But if we’re honest, how many of us vowed to swap our sugar-filled morning lattes for kale smoothies only to have a bad day and immediately revert to our old habits?

In our journey of self-growth , resolutions can play a pivotal role, but their effectiveness hinges on understanding the “why” and crafting a plan that allows for successful implementation. It’s not just about setting goals; it’s about delving into the reasons behind them and devising a concrete plan to ensure we follow through.

Numerous surveys have highlighted the phenomenon of New Year’s resolutions. It’s estimated that approximately 45% of Americans participate and set goals at the top of each new year.

“This aligns with the findings of the psychosocial study, ‘The Fresh Start Effect,’” says Barbara A. Prempeh, Psy.D., a New Jersey-based licensed psychologist and founder of B. Resilient —a counseling practice specializing in trauma and helping individuals and organizations develop resilience. “The research delves into the influence of temporal landmarks like the new year on driving aspirational behavior. These landmarks help us mentally distance ourselves from past actions, offering hope and renewed motivation to pursue our future objectives.”

New Year’s resolutions leverage “the fresh start effect” by aligning with the symbolic significance of the start of a new year. According to the study, people are more likely to set ambitious goals during this time, driven by a sense of renewal and a desire to make positive life changes.

Prempeh believes that the new year is an ideal time for transformation, but emphasizes the importance of analyzing the origin of our resolutions . Why do we really want to change?

“Is the resolution something that you want to accomplish for yourself because you discovered an area of your life that needed growth or change, or is it a resolution that was created based on what others are doing?” she challenges.

In other words, are you considering becoming vegetarian because you’re drawn to the potential health advantages of a meat-free diet, or are you following a current trend? Do you want to write the book because you genuinely have an interest in storytelling, or are you merely caught up in the hype of bestseller lists? Moment of truth: Are these resolutions from the heart, or just chasing the latest social media buzz?

“There is nothing wrong with seeing someone accomplish something or growing in a certain area and feeling as though you want that growth for yourself, too; but make sure it is aligned with who you truly desire to be,” she says. “Make sure to examine the source and the ‘why’ to your resolutions.”

Goal-setting coach Nisheena Clemons, founder of Phoenix Rise Wellness , believes that understanding your why can also be beneficial in actually making your goals stick.

According to her, a solid plan is the starting point, but true sticking power comes when you grasp the purpose and motivation behind your decision-making. Clemons utilizes the conventional S.M.A.R.T. model (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) for resolution setting, but she offers a slight remix to the traditional acronym, urging women to dream bigger.

“Instead of the A for achievable, I like to replace it with ‘audacious,'” she says. “When we are thinking about goals, we are thinking about things that are beyond us. Audacious goals are about purpose. Remembering your purpose can be motivating when it gets tough.”

Once you’ve assessed your why, Clemons recommends devising the plan by first breaking goals down into smaller tasks.

“I think of the African proverb—there is only one way to eat an elephant, one bite at a time,” she says. “The same is with our goals. We break them down to do something almost every day—if not every day—towards that goal. When you break it down so small, it builds your confidence and momentum to keep on doing it. And it compounds over time.”

And if you need a bit of extra support, enlisting a life coach can help you map out your dreams, tackle obstacles, and keep you on track when you need that extra push. And there is power in community.

“A life coach, workshops and empowerment groups can help you connect with like-minded people to experience a collective momentum to keep you going,” Clemons says. “Having an accountability partner is crucial in achieving your goals.”

As you navigate the maze of the new year, remember that resolutions are less about grand declarations, quotes, and magic wand transformations. Instead, focus on the beauty of your journey of self-discovery and growth. Embrace each moment and cherish the lessons you’ll learn along the way. And if resolutions are about aligning with your purpose, as suggested by Clemons—here’s to fulfilling New Year’s resolutions that guide you in living not only your purpose but your best life in 2024.

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Essay on New Year Celebration

Students are often asked to write an essay on New Year Celebration in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on New Year Celebration

The excitement of new year.

New Year is a time filled with joy and celebration. It marks the beginning of a fresh year and is celebrated worldwide. It’s a time when people bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new one with open arms.

Traditions and Customs

The joy of celebration.

New Year celebrations bring families and friends together. It’s a time of happiness, hope, and new beginnings. Everyone eagerly waits for the clock to strike midnight to cheer, “Happy New Year!”

250 Words Essay on New Year Celebration

Introduction to new year celebrations.

The New Year celebration is a universal event, marked by anticipation, reflection, and joy. It is a time when people bid farewell to the past and welcome the future with renewed hope and enthusiasm. The celebration is not only a cultural tradition but also a psychological milestone that allows individuals to assess their lives and set new goals.

Historical Background

Celebrations around the world.

Today, New Year celebrations take various forms worldwide. In many Western cultures, it’s often marked with fireworks, parties, and the singing of ‘Auld Lang Syne.’ In contrast, Chinese New Year is characterized by the Lantern Festival, dragon dances, and the giving of red envelopes. Meanwhile, in Jewish tradition, Rosh Hashanah is a solemn time of reflection and atonement.

Significance and Impact

The New Year celebration holds profound significance. It is a symbol of rebirth and renewal, providing an opportunity for individuals to reflect, recalibrate, and set new goals. The celebration also has a considerable socio-economic impact, driving consumerism during the holiday season and boosting various sectors, including tourism, retail, and entertainment.

In conclusion, the New Year celebration is a universal tradition that transcends cultural boundaries. It is a time of reflection, renewal, and hope, embodying the human spirit’s resilience and aspiration for a better future.

500 Words Essay on New Year Celebration

Introduction.

New Year’s Eve, the last day of the year, is universally celebrated with great enthusiasm and anticipation. It’s a day of reflection, resolution, and promise, marking the transition from the past year’s experiences to the untapped potential of the future. The celebration is a blend of cultural traditions, personal beliefs, and modern practices, making it a unique and vibrant occasion.

The History and Significance

The concept of the New Year dates back to ancient civilizations, such as the Babylonians and the Romans, who marked the beginning of the year based on lunar or solar cycles. Over time, with the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, January 1st became universally recognized as the start of the New Year. The celebration is not merely a chronological change but carries deep symbolic significance. It represents renewal, rebirth, and the chance to start anew, which is often manifested in the form of New Year resolutions.

Global Celebrations

Modern practices and traditions.

In the contemporary world, New Year’s Eve is often marked by social gatherings and parties. People come together to bid farewell to the past year and welcome the new one with music, dance, and merriment. The countdown to midnight is a universally shared moment, often accompanied by the popping of champagne bottles and a chorus of ‘Auld Lang Syne’. Many also engage in the practice of making New Year’s resolutions, setting personal goals for self-improvement in the coming year.

Reflection and Resolution

The New Year is also a time for introspection. It provides an opportunity to reflect on the past year’s experiences, learnings, successes, and failures. This reflection often leads to resolutions – commitments to personal growth, whether it’s picking up a new skill, improving health, or fostering better relationships. The New Year thus becomes a catalyst for change, inspiring individuals to strive for betterment.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

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Essays About New Year: 5 Examples and Prompts

The new year marks a new beginning for everyone. If you are writing essays about new year, you can start by reading some essay examples. 

On new year’s day, everything resets. The calendar returns to January, the year’s first month, and the year starts anew. In the same way, most people see the start of a new year as the start of something better for themselves.

They want to improve themselves in specific ways by picking up good traits, being kinder, and trying to get out of bad habits and mannerisms; they set new year’s resolutions to attempt to break these habits. New year’s eve and new year’s day are undoubtedly some of the most important days of the year.

If you are writing an essay about new year, start by reading these examples. 

Are you looking for more? Check out our guide packed full of transition words for essays

1. The New Year: A Time for Reflection and a Time to Move Forward by Susanne Carlson

2. my new year’s resolution by francisco sáez, 3. my lonely new year’s eve party will consist of sadness, hope, and life-changing gratitude by dawn bevier, 4. the psychology of new years eve reflection by ben farrell, 5. why is new year’s eve so depressing by leila ettachfini, 1. what is the importance of new year’s resolutions, 2. different new year celebrations, 3. is new year a new beginning, 4. why some people find new year’s celebrations depressing, 5. are new year’s resolutions a waste of time.

“With reflection and attention to positive change, taking note of what we have learned on our journey up until now, can give us the opportunity to apply it to the future, to take with us what is helpful and to leave behind what is not.”

Carlson writes about the importance of reflection and learning from one’s mistakes for the new year ahead. She sees the new year as a time for new beginnings; she wants it to be the start of positive change for others, just as it has been for her. Reflection is essential, as it allows us to see what we can improve on and do better in the coming year. 

“According to Goleman, the link between attention and excellence is behind almost all our achievements. Attention is needed not only to understand, learn or remember, but also to read the emotions of others, generate empathy and build good relationships. It is an asset that, despite being little known and despised, has great relevance in how we face life.”

Sáez briefly explains his new year’s resolution: to be more attentive. He wants to improve his attention and focus on forming better relationships with others, healthily using technology, and better his mental health. By reading the book Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence , he hopes to hone his attention for the new year and do better in the future. You might also be interested in these essays about celebration .

“And yes, I know this pandemic is not done with its destruction, but I also know we’re fighting back like hell and making progress. And that long-awaited day of celebration is now coming sooner rather than later. And when that day comes, I can’t help but believe that the world will be a better place. I know I will be a better person and millions of you will be as well.”

In this solemn piece, Bevier laments new year’s celebrations during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed millions. She is sad for those she has lost and the loss of the pre-pandemic life she loved. However, she hopes the next new year will not be like the last, and she has learned to be grateful for the more minor things in life. The pandemic has taught her a lot, but most importantly, to be optimistic for the future and to look ahead to the new year with hope, kindness, and gratitude. 

“In reality, new years eve is no different to any other night of the year yet; we can’t help but assign some special meaning to the 31st of December. The psychological significance of the night can be a good thing, but it can also create tremendous anxiety for us.”

Farrell explains the psychological pressure of New Year’s Eve. This one night is no different from any other, but since it is the last one of the year, people feel the need to reflect not only on the day but the entire year. The imagery of big parties and “new beginnings” further add to the pressure, as people feel the need to have the “picture-perfect” new year. He says that while it can be helpful to use the beginning of the year as the start of positive change, it is more important to learn from one’s mistakes, no matter what time of the year. 

“‘Anytime you let social convention dictate what you do rather than doing what feels best for you, you run the risk of anxiety, depression, and so on,’ says Dr. Kubiak. New Year’s Eve leaves this group with a tough choice: go out even though you really don’t want to or deal with the uncomfortable task of telling your friends that you’re going to sit this one out.”

Ettachfini explains new year’s eve from the perspective of those who get anxious or depressed during this time. Failure during the year, social anxiety, and the feeling of having to say goodbye to the year are all contributing factors. She cites information from Dr. Larry Kubiak, who says that depression and anxiety are normal, but it is essential to talk about them with a loved one to prevent their consuming of your life. 

Top 5 Prompts on Essays about New Year

What is the importance of setting a new year’s resolution? In this essay, explore why people create new year resolutions and what a resolution aims to achieve. You can include your reasoning, interview others, or use online sources. Perhaps you can argue whether new years resolutions are helpful or not in achieving goals. Think about the resolutions you have set, and whether or not it has helped you achieve a goal. 

Different cultures and religions celebrate the new year differently, sometimes even having different dates. Write about how the new year is celebrated in different parts of the world, including dates, activities, and any local traditions. Use research to support your findings, this can be found in history books, interviews, statistical data or news articles online. 

Many think of the new year as a “rebirth” of some sort; however, it can be argued that the new year would be better used as an instrument of continuity, particularly that of the good things that happened in the previous year. You might also be interested in these essays about Christmas .

Some see new year as something to be sad about. In your essay, you can discuss the darker side of new year and write about anxiety and depression during this time, similar to Ettachfini’s essay. In your essay, include the reasons for, behaviors displayed, and possible remedies to sadness during the new year’s holidays.

Some say that it is unrealistic to make new year’s resolutions. Discuss if you believe new year’s resolutions are a waste of time or not. Create a compelling argumentative essay by stating your position and providing research, statistics, or interview data to back up your arguments.

For help with this topic, read our guide explaining what is persuasive writing ?

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Essay on New Year for School Students: 100, 200 and 300 Words

• Updated on  
• Nov 16, 2023

New Year is not just for celebrations and resolutions, it’s a time to reflect on one’s life, including accomplishments, mistakes, and lessons learned, as well as any new opportunities one may have to improve and enrich it. Students are frequently required to write essays on a variety of topics in school. Check out some of the best samples of essay on new year to inspire your own originality and inspiration. Continue reading. 

Also Read: Essay on Christmas

Table of Contents

• 1 Essay on New Year in 100 Words
• 2 Essay on New Year in 200 Words
• 3 Essay on New Year in 300 Words

Essay on New Year in 100 Words

One of the most exciting times of the year is the new year, which is celebrated with joy and festivity all throughout the world. People all around the world are happy because it offers them a chance to start over and build a better future for themselves. 

On January 1st, both the Julian and Gregorian calendars observe New Year’s Day. On December 31st, people begin their New Year celebrations. People belonging to different cultures have their unique ways of celebrating this event. 

During the New Year, all of the markets, shopping centres, hotels, and eateries are beautifully decorated and provide several discounts. Individuals of all ages come together to ring in the new year with fun and happiness.  The beginning of a new year is the ideal moment to start over. 

Also Read: Essay on Winter Season

Essay on New Year in 200 Words

Resolutions and new beginnings are common during the New Year’s season. A lot of people set goals for the new year. The excitement, fervour, new outfits, parties on New Year’s Eve, gifts, and loads of fun are all hallmarks of the holiday. On this day, people wish and congratulate their friends and family. A close-knit group cooks and savours a variety of delicacies. This day is celebrated by people worldwide with celebrations and fireworks. 

In addition, many celebrate in their places of employment and plan different get-togethers and celebrations for their staff members to add some new life to their days. The invigorating new beginning that the new year offers to everyone’s life is its best feature. Everybody has the opportunity to start over, full of optimism, and look forward to a bright future as the calendar resets. 

Children are also brimming with happiness and excitement, as well as blessings from their loved ones, new clothes, gifts, and candies. Numerous educational institutions host comprehensive growth initiatives that begin on Christmas Day and run through New Year’s Eve. People carry on the lessons they have acquired from their past failures.    

Essay on New Year in 300 Words

Every year on New Year’s Eve, people celebrate and remember the previous year by having a great time and exchanging gifts, decorations, and delicious food. It’s a time when people from all over the world start over. 

Gregorian New Year, which falls on January 1st, is marked by a huge party. It is also said to be the Julian calendar’s New Year’s Day. Rome’s Julius Caesar was the first to proclaim January 1st as a national holiday. 

Nowhere is as festive as in Western countries when it comes to celebrating a new year. To celebrate New Year’s Eve, they all get together. It’s a common belief that the start of a new year brings with it happiness and fresh dreams. It’s also an ideal opportunity to take stock of the lessons and experiences of the past and look forward with optimism. 

Globally, people celebrate the English Calendar’s New Year, despite the fact that other cultures follow different calendars. Every culture celebrates the new year in a unique way. In India, for instance, many Hindus celebrate the New Year around the end of March or the start of April, whereas the Chinese celebrate it around February. While the dates may fluctuate throughout countries, the spirit of New Year’s stays the same. 

People celebrate this day, regardless of where they live, what religion they practise, or what region they come from. They see it as a chance to make the most of their life and make improvements to it.

Additionally, the New Year is a great opportunity to make resolutions. Getting organised, giving up a habit, planning to start new tasks, aiming for a high score, adopting a healthy lifestyle, or anything else. On this day, many people resolve to begin a new chapter in their lives. 

Every year on December 31st and January 1st, people celebrate New Year’s Eve, which marks the start of a new calendar year. 

Julius Caesar proposed the Julian Calendar. It is believed that it was a reform of the Roman Calendar. 

On this day, people take a moment to pause, look back, and make a fresh start for the future as they consider the lessons and experiences they have had this year. 

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Nidhi Mishra

Nidhi Mishra is a seasoned senior content writer with more than eight years of diverse experience in the field of education. Her varied career encompasses work in teaching, training, counselling, developing curriculum, and content creation. Nidhi has a solid background in education and has developed her abilities to meet the diverse needs of students, especially students who want to study abroad. Throughout her career, Nidhi has been an invaluable resource to students with their test-taking efforts, offering thorough career assistance and insightful advice on how to navigate the complexity of the system of education. Her speciality is creating interesting and educational content that is specifically designed to fulfil the needs of students who want to pursue higher education abroad. Together with her wonderful writing skills, Nidhi's love of education has allowed her to produce content that has a lasting impression on readers, educators, and students alike. She is committed to providing high-quality, timely, and insightful content because she believes that education can empower people.

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The new year means new beginnings — and new resolutions. Whether your students hope to become stronger readers or aim to be more compassionate toward one another, the new year is the perfect time to help them reflect upon what they need to do to achieve their goals.

These 31 new year writing prompts will inspire your students to reflect on the past year, set realistic goals and resolutions, and look ahead to a bright future to make 2024 even more successful!

1. What are your resolutions for this new year?

2. Why is it important to make new year’s resolutions?

3. What was the best thing that happened to you this past year?

4. What are you most looking forward to this new year?

5. This year will be a year of…

6. In what ways were your kind to your friends, family, and teachers this past year?

7. What can you do this new year to be a good friend?

8. What can you do this new year to show gratitude for your friends, family, and teachers?

9. This new year, I’m grateful for…

10. This new year, I can’t wait to…

11. What new adventures would you like to go on this year?

12. Can you describe your most memorable new year?

13. Why is the new year important to you?

14. Have you made a new year’s resolution before? What was it?

15. Does your family have any new year’s traditions? What are they?

16.  What can you do to make this new year even more special than last?

17.  Before this year ends, I will…

18.  The best book I read last year was ________ because…

19.  The book I’m most looking forward to reading this year is ________ because…

20.  This new year, I can’t wait to learn about…

21.  This new year, I hope I’m able to…

22.  What will you need to do to achieve your goals and keep your resolutions in the new year?

23.  What can we do as a class this new year to be more kind to one another?

24.  How can your classmates and teachers help you achieve your goals and resolutions?

25.  How can you help your classmates and teachers achieve their goals and resolutions?

26.  In what ways can you practice empathy this year?

27.  Describe a time when you helped a classmate or teacher. How did you feel afterward?

28. What was the most fun part of the year in class for you?

29. What are you most excited to do in class next year?

30. What can you do next year to be helpful at home and at school?

31. What was the most interesting thing you’ve learned this year?

Combining daily writing exercises with extended class or small-group discussion will help your students set realistic, yet meaningful, goals to make the new year even more successful than the last. By encouraging your students to really reflect on the new year and what it means to make and keep resolutions, they’ll be prepared to overcome any challenge they may encounter along the way — and help their friends and classmates do the same!

Shop workbooks that encourage writing skills below. You can find all books and activities — including writing workbooks and other writing resources — at  The Teacher Store .

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Short Essay: New Year Resolution

New Year’s resolutions are commitments that individuals make to themselves to improve or change their habits, lifestyles, or relationships at the start of a new year. Writing a short essay on this topic offers a chance to explore the psychological aspects, effectiveness, and cultural significance of these resolutions. Here’s how to structure and craft a compelling short essay on New Year’s resolutions.

Table of Contents

Title and Introduction

Title : Choose a title that is both catchy and informative, such as “New Beginnings: The Power and Pitfalls of New Year’s Resolutions.”

Body of the Essay

Cultural Significance and Variations :

New Year Resolution Essay Example #1

As the calendar turns and a new year dawns upon us, it is a time of reflection, renewal, and the opportunity for personal growth. New Year’s resolutions have long been a tradition, allowing individuals to set intentions and goals for the coming year. For me, this tradition is not just a fleeting promise but a chance to embark on a journey of self-improvement.

Additionally, I resolve to foster stronger connections with loved ones and build meaningful relationships. In today’s digital age, it is easy to get caught up in a virtual world, often overlooking the importance of genuine human connection. I want to invest time and effort in nurturing my relationships, engaging in meaningful conversations, and creating lasting memories with family and friends. By being present and actively listening, I hope to strengthen the bonds that enrich my life and bring joy to those around me.

New Year Resolution Essay Example #2

First and foremost, I resolve to cultivate a mindset of gratitude and positivity. In a world often defined by negativity and challenges, it is crucial to acknowledge and appreciate the blessings that surround us. Each day, I will strive to find something to be grateful for, whether it’s a simple pleasure or a significant achievement. By shifting my perspective to one of gratitude, I hope to nurture a positive outlook that permeates every aspect of my life.

Lastly, I resolve to make a positive impact in the world around me. Small acts of kindness can create ripples of change that extend far beyond our immediate sphere. I will strive to contribute to my community through volunteering, supporting causes I care about, and spreading kindness wherever I go. By recognizing the power of my actions, no matter how small, I can be part of a collective effort to create a more compassionate and harmonious world.

New Year Resolution Essay Example #3

First and foremost, I resolve to achieve a healthier work-life balance. In our fast-paced world, it’s easy to become consumed by professional responsibilities, leaving little time for personal pursuits and relationships. I will set clear boundaries, carve out dedicated time for self-care, and strive to be fully present in my personal life. By nurturing a harmonious balance between work and leisure, I aim to enhance my overall well-being and cultivate stronger connections with loved ones.

Furthermore, I aspire to embrace sustainability and contribute to a healthier planet. I will adopt eco-friendly practices such as reducing waste, conserving energy, and supporting sustainable initiatives. By making conscious choices that minimize my ecological footprint, I can contribute to the preservation of our environment and inspire others to do the same.

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New Year's Eve, by Charles Lamb

'I am content to stand still at the age to which I am arrived'

• An Introduction to Punctuation
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

An accountant in India House in London for more than 30 years and caregiver for his sister Mary (who, in a fit of mania, had stabbed their mother to death), Charles Lamb was one of the great masters of the English essay .

The most intimate of the early-19th-century essayists, Lamb relied on stylistic artifice ("whim-whams," as he referred to his antique diction and far-fetched comparisons ) and a contrived persona known as "Elia." As George L. Barnett has observed, "Lamb's egoism suggests more than Lamb's person: it awakens in the reader reflections of kindred feelings and affections" ( Charles Lamb: The Evolution of Elia , 1964).

In the essay "New Year's Eve," which first appeared in the January 1821 issue of The London Magazine , Lamb reflects wistfully on the passage of time. You may find it interesting to compare Lamb's essay with three others in our collection:

• "At the Turn of the Year," by Fiona Macleod (William Sharp)
• "Last Year," by Horace Smith
• " The New Year," by George William Curtis
• "January in the Sussex Woods," by Richard Jefferies

New Year's Eve

by Charles Lamb

1 Every man hath two birth-days: two days, at least, in every year, which set him upon revolving the lapse of time, as it affects his mortal duration. The one is that which in an especial manner he termeth his . In the gradual desuetude of old observances, this custom of solemnizing our proper birth-day hath nearly passed away, or is left to children, who reflect nothing at all about the matter, nor understand any thing in it beyond cake and orange. But the birth of a New Year is of an interest too wide to be pretermitted by king or cobbler. No one ever regarded the First of January with indifference. It is that from which all date their time, and count upon what is left. It is the nativity of our common Adam.

2 Of all sounds of all bells--(bells, the music nighest bordering upon heaven)--most solemn and touching is the peal which rings out the Old Year. I never hear it without a gathering-up of my mind to a concentration of all the images that have been diffused over the past twelvemonth; all I have done or suffered, performed or neglected--in that regretted time. I begin to know its worth, as when a person dies. It takes a personal colour; nor was it a poetical flight in a contemporary, when he exclaimed

I saw the skirts of the departing Year.

It is no more than what in sober sadness every one of us seems to be conscious of, in that awful leave-taking. I am sure I felt it, and all felt it with me, last night; though some of my companions affected rather to manifest an exhilaration at the birth of the coming year, than any very tender regrets for the decease of its predecessor. But I am none of those who--

Welcome the coming, speed the parting guest.

I am naturally, beforehand, shy of novelties; new books, new faces, new years, from some mental twist which makes it difficult in me to face the prospective. I have almost ceased to hope; and am sanguine only in the prospects of other (former) years. I plunge into foregone visions and conclusions. I encounter pell-mell with past disappointments. I am armour-proof against old discouragements. I forgive, or overcome in fancy, old adversaries. I play over again for love , as the gamesters phrase it, games, for which I once paid so dear. I would scarce now have any of those untoward accidents and events of my life reversed. I would no more alter them than the incidents of some well-contrived novel. Methinks, it is better that I should have pined away seven of my goldenest years, when I was thrall to the fair hair, and fairer eyes, of Alice W----n, than that so passionate a love-adventure should be lost. It was better that our family should have missed that legacy, which old Dorrell cheated us of, than that I should have at this moment two thousand pounds in banco , and be without the idea of that specious old rogue.

3 In a degree beneath manhood, it is my infirmity to look back upon those early days. Do I advance a paradox , when I say, that, skipping over the intervention of forty years, a man may have leave to love himself , without the imputation of self-love?

4 If I know aught of myself, no one whose mind is introspective--and mine is painfully so--can have a less respect for his present identity, than I have for the man Elia. I know him to be light, and vain, and humorsome; a notorious ***; addicted to ****: averse from counsel, neither taking it, nor offering it;--*** besides; a stammering buffoon; what you will; lay it on, and spare not; I subscribe to it all, and much more, than thou canst be willing to lay at his door--but for the child Elia--that "other me," there, in the back-ground--I must take leave to cherish the remembrance of that young master--with as little reference, I protest, to this stupid changeling of five-and-forty, as if it had been a child of some other house, and not of my parents. I can cry over its patient small-pox at five, and rougher medicaments. I can lay its poor fevered head upon the sick pillow at Christ's, and wake with it in surprise at the gentle posture of maternal tenderness hanging over it, that unknown had watched its sleep. I know how it shrank from any the least colour of falsehood. God help thee, Elia, how art thou changed! Thou art sophisticated. I know how honest, how courageous (for a weakling) it was--how religious, how imaginative, how hopeful! From what have I not fallen, if the child I remember was indeed myself, and not some dissembling guardian, presenting a false identity, to give the rule to my unpractised steps, and regulate the tone of my moral being!

5 That I am fond of indulging, beyond a hope of sympathy, in such retrospection, may be the symptom of some sickly idiosyncrasy. Or is it owing to another cause; simply, that being without wife or family, I have not learned to project myself enough out of myself; and having no offspring of my own to dally with, I turn back upon memory and adopt my own early idea, as my heir and favourite? If these speculations seem fantastical to thee, reader (a busy man, perchance), if I tread out of the way of thy sympathy, and am singularly-conceited only, I retire, impenetrable to ridicule, under the phantom cloud of Elia.

6 The elders, with whom I was brought up, were of a character not likely to let slip the sacred observance of any old institution; and the ringing out of the Old Year was kept by them with circumstances of peculiar ceremony. In those days the sound of those midnight chimes, though it seemed to raise hilarity in all around me, never failed to bring a train of pensive imagery into my fancy. Yet I then scarce conceived what it meant, or thought of it as a reckoning that concerned me. Not childhood alone, but the young man till thirty, never feels practically that he is mortal. He knows it indeed, and, if need were, he could preach a homily on the fragility of life; but he brings it not home to himself, any more than in a hot June we can appropriate to our imagination the freezing days of December. But now, shall I confess a truth? I feel these audits but too powerfully. I begin to count the probabilities of my duration, and to grudge at the expenditure of moments and shortest periods, like miser's farthings. In proportion as the years both lessen and shorten, I set more count upon their periods, and would fain lay my ineffectual finger upon the spoke of the great wheel. I am not content to pass away "like a weaver's shuttle." Those  metaphors  solace me not, nor sweeten the unpalatable draught of mortality. I care not to be carried with the tide, that smoothly bears human life to eternity; and reluct at the inevitable course of destiny. I am in love with this green earth; the face of town and country; the unspeakable rural solitudes, and the sweet security of streets. I would set up my tabernacle here. I am content to stand still at the age to which I am arrived; I, and my friends: to be no younger, no richer, no handsomer. I do not want to be weaned by age; or drop, like mellow fruit, as they say, into the grave. Any alteration, on this earth of mine, in diet or in lodging, puzzles and discomposes me. My household-gods plant a terrible fixed foot, and are not rooted up without blood. They do not willingly seek Lavinian shores. A new state of being staggers me.

7  Sun, and sky, and breeze, and solitary walks, and summer holidays, and the greenness of fields, and the delicious juices of meats and fishes, and society, and the cheerful glass, and candle-light, and fire-side conversations, and innocent vanities, and jests, and  irony itself --do these things go out with life?

8  Can a ghost laugh, or shake his gaunt sides, when you are pleasant with him?

9  And you, my midnight darlings, my Folios! must I part with the intense delight of having you (huge armfuls) in my embraces? Must knowledge come to me, if it come at all, by some awkward experiment of intuition, and no longer by this familiar process of reading?

10  Shall I enjoy friendships there, wanting the smiling indications which point me to them here,--the recognisable face--the "sweet assurance of a look"--?

11  In winter this intolerable disinclination to dying--to give it its mildest name--does more especially haunt and beset me. In a genial August noon, beneath a sweltering sky, death is almost problematic. At those times do such poor snakes as myself enjoy an immortality. Then we expand and burgeon. Then are we as strong again, as valiant again, as wise again, and a great deal taller. The blast that nips and shrinks me, puts me in thoughts of death. All things allied to the insubstantial, wait upon that master feeling; cold, numbness, dreams, perplexity; moonlight itself, with its shadowy and spectral appearances,--that cold ghost of the sun, or Phoebus' sickly sister, like that innutritious one denounced in the Canticles:--I am none of her minions--I hold with the Persian.

12  Whatsoever thwarts, or puts me out of my way, brings death into my mind. All partial evils, like humours, run into that capital plague-sore. I have heard some profess an indifference to life. Such hail the end of their existence as a port of refuge; and speak of the grave as of some soft arms, in which they may slumber as on a pillow. Some have wooed death--but out upon thee, I say, thou foul, ugly phantom! I detest, abhor, execrate, and (with Friar John) give thee to six-score thousand devils, as in no instance to be excused or tolerated, but shunned as a universal viper; to be branded, proscribed, and spoken evil of! In no way can I be brought to digest thee, thou thin, melancholy  Privation , or more frightful and confounding  Positive!

13  Those antidotes, prescribed against the fear of thee, are altogether frigid and insulting, like thyself. For what satisfaction hath a man, that he shall "lie down with kings and emperors in death," who in his life-time never greatly coveted the society of such bed-fellows?--or, forsooth, that "so shall the fairest face appear?"--why, to comfort me, must Alice W----n be a goblin? More than all, I conceive disgust at those impertinent and misbecoming familiarities, inscribed upon your ordinary tombstones. Every dead man must take upon himself to be lecturing me with his odious truism, that "such as he now is, I must shortly be." Not so shortly, friend, perhaps, as thou imaginest. In the meantime I am alive. I move about. I am worth twenty of thee. Know thy betters! Thy New Years' Days are past. I survive, a jolly candidate for 1821. Another cup of wine--and while that turn-coat bell, that just now mournfully chanted the obsequies of 1820 departed, with changed notes lustily rings in a successor, let us attune to its peal the song made on a like occasion, by hearty, cheerful Mr. Cotton.--

"Hark, the cock crows, and yon bright star Tells us, the day himself's not far; And see where, breaking from the night, He gilds the western hills with light. With him old Janus doth appear, Peeping into the future year, With such a look as seems to say, The prospect is not good that way. Thus do we rise ill sights to see, And 'gainst ourselves to prophesy; When the prophetic fear of things A more tormenting mischief brings, More full of soul-tormenting gall, Than direst mischiefs can befall. But stay! but stay! methinks my sight, Better inform'd by clearer light, Discerns sereneness in that brow, That all contracted seem'd but now. His revers'd face may show distaste, And frown upon the ills are past; But that which this way looks is clear, And smiles upon the New-born Year. He looks too from a place so high, The Year lies open to his eye; And all the moments open are To the exact discoverer. Yet more and more he smiles upon The happy revolution. Why should we then suspect or fear The influences of a year, So smiles upon us the first morn, And speaks us good so soon as born? Plague on't! the last was ill enough, This cannot but make better proof; Or, at the worst, as we brush'd through The last, why so we may this too; And then the next in reason shou'd Be superexcellently good: For the worst ills (we daily see) Have no more perpetuity, Than the best fortunes that do fall; Which also bring us wherewithal Longer their being to support, Than those do of the other sort: And who has one good year in three, And yet repines at destiny, Appears ungrateful in the case, And merits not the good he has. Then let us welcome the New Guest With lusty brimmers of the best; Mirth always should Good Fortune meet, And renders e'en Disaster sweet: And though the Princess turn her back, Let us but line ourselves with sack, We better shall by far hold out, Till the next Year she face about."

14  How say you, reader--do not these verses smack of the rough magnanimity of the old English  vein? Do they not fortify like a cordial ; enlarging the heart, and productive of sweet blood, and generous spirits, in the concoction? Where be those puling fears of death, just now expressed or affected? Passed like a cloud--absorbed in the purging sunlight of clear poetry--clean washed away by a wave of genuine Helicon, your only Spa for these hypochondries--And now another cup of the generous! and a merry New Year , and many of them, to you all, my masters!

"New Year's Eve," by Charles Lamb, was first published in the January 1821 issue of  The London Magazine  and was included in  Essays of Elia , 1823 (reprinted by Pomona Press in 2006).

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The Importance Of New Year, New Me

Show More The majority of people start their new year with a list of resolutions. “New Year, New Me” is often said each time a new year comes. The reason for that is because every new year is a new chapter in our lives, and everything in the past that we were looking forward to changing can be changed or improved in a new year and we can add set that as a goal to become one of our new year's resolution. Setting goals can be very important. One of the reasons setting goals is a must is for you to point out what you want to do and not feel like you are just floating throughout the year. If you don’t set goals or think about them, this will leave you wondering what you actually did and accomplished the year before. Setting goals and making a list of resolution …show more content… Motivation is also very important while trying to achieve your goal. One of the most important things to keep in mind is to not give up or feel hopeless and to keep on trying no matter what if you did not reach and fulfill your goal. As long as you know that you tried, then keep on doing it because aiming and attempting to achieve a goal is the key to accomplish it, and right before when you achieve it or at least achieve some of it you will feel satisfied and proud of your own achievements or the fact that you tried your best. Goals make you feel that you are in control of your life. Goals are not all the same. Some of your goals might be about your health and to get in shape or about changing your lifestyle by trying to reduce the amount of waste you generate by living the “less waste lifestyle” or to even go vegan. In …show more content… What I mean by that is to learn more about it and know where I can get the right food also to have a balanced meal. I also aim to live a less waste lifestyle by producing less waste and to aid my home, planet earth. I also hope to encourage people to follow that lifestyle because one person makes a difference. In order to achieve this, I have a made my personal project about it. For my 3 year goal, I will be hopeful of entering a university I have been thinking about for a long time (insha'Allah). I will make sure to work hard and be the best I can be in order to achieve this goal. Finally, I have been thinking of my 10-year goal for a while since its years after, however, I might still be in university, so this goal will fall in my business category. My goal is to start a business with my sister. The business that we are planning to start is a vegan shop with healthy goods and sell reusable products to replace disposable ones in order to motivate people to produce less waste and save our home. The plane is to first deliver the goods then open a shop as the business grows.

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Home » Extras » New Year Essay 200 Words in English – 4 best New Year Essay

New Year Essay 200 Words in English – 4 best New Year Essay

Happy new year essay in 200 words #1.

The New Year is the day when a new calendar year begins. The New Year is celebrated on January 1st (New Year’s Day). According to the Gregorian calendar, January 1 is considered as the first day of the year. Ahead of the new year, people start planning for their celebrations and resolutions. Like many other festivals, New Year also brings joy and happiness, irrespective of the culture and caste. 

In Western countries, New Year’s Day is surrounded by many traditions and customs. The night before, known as New Year’s Eve, people throw parties and feasts. They stay up late, counting down the minutes until midnight. Fireworks displays are frequently organized, and people flock to the streets at midnight to watch them. At midnight, it is customary to shake hands with others and wish them a “Happy New Year.” Many people make New Year’s resolutions or self-promises. 

Watch-night services (also known as Watch-night Mass) are held late on New Year’s Eve in many Christian traditions. This gives them the opportunity to reflect on the previous year and make confession, as well as to prepare for the coming year by praying and making New Year’s resolutions.

• New Year Essay in 100 Words
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My New Year Essay in 200 Words #2

The New Year is celebrated around the world with excitement, enthusiasm and joy. It marks the ending of the year and the beginning of another as per the Gregorian calendar. This is an important day for people who wish to enter this new year with new resolutions, hope and light. 

January 01 is marked as the new year when the early Roman calendar became out of sync with the sun. In 46 BC, Julius Caesar, Roman General and Statesman established the Julian calendar after consulting astronomers and mathematicians. This calendar is much similar to the current Gregorian Calendar marking January 01 as the beginning of a year. 

People across the globe celebrate New Year on different days depending upon the different communities they belong to. In India, the new year is observed on January 01 as per the English calendar. However, as per the Hindu scripture, the new year is marked between March and April. 

Even though every community celebrates the New Year according to its on the calendar, the English calendar is majorly used to commemorate globally. Most countries celebrate the new year after 12:00 AM in December and welcome January 01 with an open heart. Lavish meals are made, firecrackers are used, people sing songs to bestow good luck for the coming year. 

As the new year refers to the first day of the year, it tends to bring happiness and hope to the lives of people. It marks the fresh beginning of life where people can leave behind all their negative energies and start afresh. There is a common tradition of new year resolutions wherein people set different goals for themselves to achieve in that year. It helps them to take small steps towards positive energy and build a good life for themselves and their beloved one’s. 

नया साल in Hindi

• नए साल पर निबंध
• नए साल पर भाषण
• हैप्पी न्यू ईयर कविता
• नए साल पर 10 पंक्तियाँ

New Year Essay in 200 Words #3

New Year is just a few hours away and people are ready to welcome it with a new zeal and enthusiasm. There has always been a buzz in the world regarding the new year celebrations. However, similar to last year, we are still in the middle of the COVID pandemic. Covid cases are rising again in the world and this has led to the cancellation and restrictions in new year celebrations in the country and around the world.

Once again, people are forced to pack themselves within the four walls of their houses. However, this is a blessing in disguise as now a lot of people are prepared to welcome the new year with their families. Now, they can simply celebrate with their families hoping and praying that the year 2022 fills their life with the strength to fight off all the problems and hindrances in their way. The year 2021 was not very good when it comes to normal business operations, lifestyle, finance etc. Therefore, people are hoping and praying that 2022 comes with a fresh breeze of positivity and a concrete solution to this deadly virus that has compromised our normal way of living.

Short New Year Essay in 200 Words #4

2021 was not one of the greatest years for any person around the world be it financially, career-wise or on the health front. Each one of us has suffered some sort of setback in any of these fields this year. However, with 2022 people are hoping that these sufferings come to an end and we start living our lives like the pre-pandemic era. Although, new year celebration plans have been cancelled owing to the reason that the COVID cases are rising again. The government was also forced to put restrictions on crowds, party spots, again citing people’s safety.

However, just like any other year, we are hoping that this year brings positivity, motivation and good health to everyone around the world. With a new year comes a new year resolution and we as people must take an oath to be sincere in our efforts irrespective of us being a working professional, student or anyone else. We must have faith and confidence in ourselves to get through any worry or trouble. One of the best promises that we can make to ourselves is to be safe from the hidden enemy that is still thriving in the world by following all the SOPs and protocols.

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New Year Essay in 500 Words – 2 best New Year Long Essay

New year essay in english in 100 words. 8 short new year essay, related posts.

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Easy Stories in English

The podcast that will take your English from OK to Good and from Good to Great!

New year, new me.

The chat is on Telegram, a fast, free and safe messaging app. To join the group chat, go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Chat .

See you there!

[introduction music]

Welcome to Easy Stories in English, the podcast that will take your English from OK to Good, and from Good to Great.

I am Ariel Goodbody, your host for this show. Today’s story is for beginners. The name of the story is New Year, New Me . You can find a transcript of the episode at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/New . That’s EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/New . This contains the full story, as well as my conversation before it.

So, Happy New Year to everyone! As I record this, it is the 1st of January, and this morning it snowed and it was really pretty. So hopefully, that means we are going to have a good year. Hopefully, 2021 will be better than 2020!

I hope you had a fun New Year’s Eve.

New Year’s Eve is the 31st of December. It’s the last day of the year, and people have big parties on this night. ‘Eve’ is short for ‘evening’.

Personally, I had a very relaxed New Year’s Eve. I watched a film called The Princess Bride , I ate some food, I chatted with a friend online and I read a book.

Maybe you had a more exciting New Year’s Eve than I did. I would love to hear what you did. So come to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/New and leave a comment and tell me, what did you do on New Year’s Eve?

Anyway, today’s story is all about New Year’s resolutions.

A New Year’s resolution is when you say, ‘Next year, I’m going to change this thing in my life.’ Usually, people make New Year’s resolutions a few days before the New Year. Most people make resolutions like, ‘I’m going to go to the gym every day this year,’ or, ‘I’m going to stop smoking this year.’ Personally, I don’t think New Year’s resolutions work. I don’t make them myself. Hopefully, this story will show you why!

Another phrase that is in this story is ‘slow and steady wins the race’. This means that it’s better to work, to move, slowly and steadily. We work a bit at a time. We shouldn’t run ahead really quickly because then we’ll get tired.

This phrase comes from a very popular story called The Rabbit and the Tortoise , and you can read this story on the podcast! So go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/Rabbit . This story will really show you the meaning of this phrase.

In other news, I finally finished Billy and Dim !

If you don’t know, Billy and Dim is a longer story that I wrote for the podcast. So you can listen to the first three chapters on the podcast, and you can read the whole story at EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/BillyAndDim .

The reason I didn’t release all the episodes on the podcast is because it’s an advanced story, and I know that it’s too difficult for many of you.

If you want to hear all of the story and not just read it, you can do that at Patreon. For just $5 a month, you can get all of Billy and Dim , as well as a bonus story every month. So that’s at Patreon.com/EasyStoriesInEnglish .

So Billy and Dim is a love story about two werewolves, two men who can turn into wolves. It’s kind of based on Little Red Riding Hood , but really, I just like writing stories about werewolves and kissing!

Anyway, I’m so sorry it took me so long to finish the story, but I’m really happy with it, and if you want to read the whole thing for free, go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com/BillyAndDim .

It’s longer than the usual stories on here. It’s eight chapters long. So if you want a challenge for your English in 2021, this could be the perfect thing!

OK, I’ll just explain some words that are in today’s story.

A wise person is someone who is clever, always acts after thinking and has good judgement. Older people are usually wiser, because life has taught them many lessons. For example, Dumbledore in Harry Potter is a very wise character.

A spontaneous person is someone who does things without thinking. For example, maybe one day you wake up and think, ‘Today, I’m going to drive to a new place and make a friend.’ Or someone invites you to a party, and you say, ‘Sure!’ without thinking. Then you are a very spontaneous person. Personally, I am not spontaneous at all. I think carefully about everything, and I like to have plans. I hate doing things without a plan!

Some people are very fun. They like to play games, make jokes and go to parties. But some people are serious . They like to stay at home, read books and have long conversations. Personally, I’m quite a serious person… Well, I do like to make jokes and play games a lot, but also I don’t like going to parties very much!

The time when you are a child is your childhood . Your childhood goes from ages 0 to 13, usually. After that, you’re a teenager. Your childhood is very important, because if you have a bad childhood, it can be difficult to have a happy life later. People often think about their childhood when they’re older.

A gym is a place where you go to exercise. You pay some money every month, and then you can go to the gym and do exercise there. Gyms have all kinds of machines you can use, weights to lift and so on. Some gyms even have swimming pools and saunas. Personally, I have never gone to a gym. I am very nervous about doing exercise in front of other people. But now I work out at home. Maybe after coronavirus, I’ll join a gym… We’ll see!

When you frown , you push your eyebrows together. Your eyebrows are the hairs above your eyes, on your head. When you are angry, or you don’t understand something, you frown. You shouldn’t frown too much, though, because then you’ll get wrinkles, lines on your forehead.

When you do something all at once , you don’t do it in small parts. You do 100% at the same time. For example, maybe you have a big chocolate cake. Normally, you would eat it slice by slice. Maybe it would take you a few days to eat it. But you love chocolate cake so much, so you eat it all at once! Mmm… Well, then you’ll probably have a stomach ache. Ouch! Children usually like to eat things all at once, but adults eat more slowly.

When you have water in a bottle, but you want to have it in a glass, you pour it. I am very bad at pouring drinks. Usually, half of the drink goes into the glass, and half goes onto the floor! When you pour beer, you have to be careful so that the beer does not all turn into white stuff called foam, because the foam then goes away and you have less beer to drink.

When you smile , you move the sides of your mouth up. It is like a laugh, but smaller. You want to show that you are happy. If you like someone, you smile at them. In some countries, people smile a lot more than in other countries. Sometimes, Thailand is called ‘the land of smiles’.

In the morning when you wake up, what’s the first thing that happens? Your alarm clock goes off ! It makes a horrible, loud sound and you run across the room to turn it off. When someone rings your phone, it goes off, too. Finally, if someone tries to steal your car, the alarm will go off. Well, hopefully it will!

If you enjoy the podcast and want more, you can support us on Patreon. For just $2 a month you can get exercises with each episode, and for $5, you get an extra story every month, as well as Elevenses with Ariel , a daily conversational podcast for intermediate learners. Last week I talked about how the UK government cancelled Christmas, quitting technology for a day, the end of Brexit, strange New Year’s traditions and the film You’ve Got Mail . You can support the show and get all the extra content at Patreon.com/EasyStoriesInEnglish . That’s Patreon.com/EasyStoriesInEnglish .

A big thank-you to our new patrons: David Meir, Choi Wai and Agnieszka Lupa. Thank you so much. Your support really means a lot to me.

OK, so listen and enjoy!

Once, there were two sisters. One of them was very wise, and always thought before doing something. She was called Minerva. The other one was very spontaneous. She always started new things without thinking, and she often had many problems. She was called Diana.

One year, Minerva and Diana were spending New Year’s Eve together. Usually, Minerva spent New Year’s alone. She read books, thought about the year, and planned the next year. Usually, Diana spent New Year’s with other people. She partied, drank lots of alcohol and felt very bad the next day.

But Minerva and Diana hadn’t seen each other all year, so they decided to spend New Year’s together. Minerva thought, Oh no, it’s going to be so boring for Diana! It will just be me and her. Diana thought, Oh no, I’m going to bother Minerva so much! She’s so serious , and I’m always so loud and spontaneous.

But actually, they had a lovely time together. They ate dinner and drank wine, and laughed a lot as they remembered their childhood.

Finally, Diana said, ‘Oh, Sister. I suppose usually at this time you are making your New Year’s resolutions.’

Minerva laughed. ‘No, no. I don’t make New Year’s resolutions.’

Diana was surprised. ‘ You don’t make resolutions? But you’re the most serious person I know! You go to the gym, and cook healthy food, and read books… How do you do all that without New Year’s resolutions?’

Minerva drank some wine. ‘Let me ask you something. How much are you planning on drinking tonight?’

Diana frowned. ‘You plan how much you’re going to drink?’

‘ No ,’ said Minerva. ‘But just tell me. Around how much are you going to drink?’

Diana thought. Usually on New Year’s, she drank a lot. But tonight, it was just her and her sister. So she would probably only drink one bottle of wine.

‘One bottle,’ she said finally.

‘And are you going to drink it all at once?’

‘Of course not!’ said Diana. ‘I know I drink a lot, but I don’t drink that much.’

‘Ah,’ said Minerva, ‘but you are still drinking one bottle. You are just drinking it all at once.’

‘We were talking about resolutions,’ said Diana. ‘Why did you ask me about wine?’

Minerva laughed and poured Diana more wine. ‘Tell me then, Sister. What are your resolutions this year?’

‘Oh, this year, this year!’ said Diana. ‘This is going to be the year I change my life. I’m going to change everything , you understand? Actually, this bottle of wine is going to be my last. In the New Year, I’m only going to drink water and tea. And I’m going to exercise every day, just like you. Yes, I’m going to go to the gym! And of course, I need to change what I eat. I always eat burgers and chips, and look at what happens.’ She showed Minerva her stomach. ‘Horrible! No, next year I will make salads and soups and all kinds of healthy food.’

‘Mm-hmm,’ said Minerva. ‘And which will you do first?’

Diana frowned. ‘I’m going to do all of them at once, of course! What about you? You don’t have any resolutions?’

Minerva sighed. ‘I suppose I have one resolution. But it’s a bit different. I’m going to learn to draw.’

‘Oh! That’s a good idea. So you’re going to practise every day?’

‘Yes, I think so,’ said Minerva.

‘How much do you have to draw, then?’

Minerva frowned. ‘Well, I don’t have to draw anything. I’m doing it because I want to. But I’m planning on doing five minutes a day.’

‘Hah, five minutes!’ said Diana. ‘You really are quite strange, Sister. Wait!’ Diana stood up. ‘I have an idea. Let’s have a competition. Oh, we always had competitions in our childhood! Next year, we’ll talk again, and we’ll see who completed their resolution better.’

Minerva smiled. ‘OK, Sister. But you know I’ll win.’

So the next day, on the first of January, Diana woke up early to go to the gym.

Well, her alarm clock went off, but she felt horrible, so she turned the alarm off and went back to sleep.

Two hours later, she got up and went to the gym. It was filled with people.

Aha, thought Diana. Everyone else has the same idea. That means it’s a good idea! I’m going to be so healthy.

She had eaten so much the night before, so she needed to work hard today. She got on the exercise machine and ran. She lifted heavy things. She rode exercise bikes. She swam.

In the end, she exercised for two hours. She was so tired, and her body hurt so much, but she was happy.

‘I’m going to show Minerva!’ she said.

But the next day, when Diana’s alarm clock went off, she couldn’t get out of bed. Her whole body hurt too much!

‘That’s OK,’ said Diana. ‘Everyone needs a break. I’ll do something else today. I’ll cook a healthy meal!’

But Diana didn’t cook very often. She didn’t know what food was healthy, and she didn’t know how to cook it. She went to the supermarket to buy food, but it took an hour, because she didn’t know what food to buy. Then she had to carry the heavy bags home, and her arms hurt so much.

When she got home, Diana said, ‘I’ll just take a short break.’

She poured a glass of wine and then stopped.

‘No!’ She remembered what she had told Minerva. ‘I can’t drink wine! I’ll have tea.’

She made a cup of tea, but she left the glass of wine on the table. The glass of wine stood there, looking at her. The tea wasn’t very nice. It was a strange, healthy tea. Diana didn’t know what was in it. But it wasn’t good. And the wine looked so good…

‘Well, it’s just one glass, isn’t it?’

Eleven months later, Diana was at a party.

‘So, Diana!’ said her friend Victor. ‘What are you doing for New Year’s?’

Suddenly, Diana remembered her competition with Minerva.

‘Oh no!’ she cried.

She had forgotten about her New Year’s resolutions. She had stopped going to the gym, but she still paid money to the gym every month. She had stopped cooking healthy food, and there were still old carrots in her fridge. And she had drunk lots of wine and beer all year.

‘What is it?’ said Victor.

Diana ran to the bathroom and poured her wine into the toilet.

‘I still have a month!’ she said. ‘I have a month to win the competition… This is going to be the healthiest month of my life!’

Victor didn’t understand what she was saying, but she left before he could ask.

For the whole of December, Diana was healthy. She went to the gym every day, she cooked healthy food and she didn’t drink any alcohol. Oh, it was hard!

But she had to win. All her childhood, Minerva had won their competitions. Just once, she wanted to win. Today, she wasn’t going to be spontaneous. No, she would be wiser than Minerva!

When New Year’s Eve arrived, Diana was very tired. She had worked so hard. She had exercised for hours every day.

‘Now who’s serious?’ she said. ‘If Minerva only did five minutes a day, she will still be very bad at drawing!’

So Diana went to visit her sister. When she came into the house, she gasped.

All of the walls had pictures on them. They were big, beautiful pictures that Minerva had drawn!

‘How is that possible?’ said Diana. ‘You only drew for five minutes a day!’

Minerva smiled. ‘Well, yes, at first I did. But after a month, I really enjoyed drawing. So I drew for ten minutes. Then twenty minutes. Now I draw for over an hour every day.’

‘You can’t do that!’ said Diana. ‘That’s… how did you do that? All year? I exercised so much on the first day, and then…’

‘Then you stopped?’ said Minerva.

‘Yes! How did you know?’

Minerva smiled. ‘You can’t change your whole life in one day. You know what they say, slow and steady wins the race .’

‘Ugh!’ said Diana. She sat down on the sofa. ‘Do you have any wine? I’ll drink it slowly and steadily.’

‘I love you, Sister,’ said Minerva, and kissed her on the head. ‘Maybe next year, just go to the gym for five minutes a day? At first.’

Diana smiled. ‘You’re so wise, Sister. I want to be like you.’

‘Now, now,’ said Minerva. ‘I want to be spontaneous like you. All our childhood, everyone said that you were so fun, and I was so serious and boring.’

Diana was surprised. ‘You want to be like me ? But I do everything wrong!’

‘No, you don’t,’ said Minerva. ‘There’s one thing you know how to do very well.’

Diana thought, but she didn’t know what it was. ‘What do you mean?’

Diana laughed. ‘Alright, then. This is going to be the best New Year’s Eve ever!’

If you enjoyed the story and want to say thank you, you can buy me a coffee on Ko-Fi . Just go to EasyStoriesInEnglish.com and click the orange button that says Buy me a coffee! Then you’ll be able to send me $3 so that I can buy a coffee, but really, I’ll probably get a bubble tea. And I’ll think of you while I drink it! Thank you for listening, and until next week.

21 responses to “New Year, New Me”

What a nice story Ariel ! with an incredible message 🙂 . In New Year’s Eve I helped my mom to decorate a part of my house with balloons and other things for the night. Then at the night we took pictures and celebrated listening and dancing 80’s pop music, salsa and cumbia ( a popular genre of music in Peru ) Was a fun day.

Thanks for the comment, Jimena! (That’s one of my favourite Spanish names, by the way!) That sounds like a wonderful tradition! I’m kind of jealous 🙂

I like the story very much

Thanks, Niki! 🙂

ı only slept becuse actually maybe this look like freak but ı dont like special days . ı think we should make every day to special day . this my idea .

That’s very true, Adulkadir! Every day is special 🙂

My New Year’s Eve was calm. Usually I think what can I do to achieve my goals. I’ve already started to work on my goals. I am learning to drive and I will get my driver’s license maybe in March. I hope this year will be better for everyone.

Fantastic! I wish you all best with your goal, Vitor 🙂

Nice work 💪

Thanks, BANDER! 🙂

I think that was absolutely good! Nice work 🤗

Thank you, Sudenur! 🙂

Thank you, that’s great work. I make resolution to read your story daily and improve my skill.

Best of luck with your resolution, Mansoor!

Thank you very much

This story could be about two of my Polish students. They are sisters but so different.

Ooh, maybe you should show it to them! 😉

I went to My friend And we chatted and dance toghther 🙈💛

Lovely! That sounds like a great New Year’s 🙂

Please put an icon that takes us to the next story below each story to make it easy to access without having to search for it for a long time.

Great idea, Rami! I’ve added this to the top and bottom of each post 🙂

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Essay on New Year

Every year begins with new hopes, desires, expectations and New Year resolutions. These also give us an edge and excitement going into the New Year, a fresh start.

This is what is like the New Year celebrations. It is a modern form of festivals which has become a ritual performed by the urban areas is particular.

This is a time of the year to mend old broken bridges and forgive past mistakes of the passing year. It offers a new chance of gratitude and forgiveness.

Many people also form New Year resolutions as possible milestones to reach in the upcoming year. They want to translate their excitement and energy into new goals and outcomes and improve their efforts to become better at various things, both personally and professionally.

Often, people resolve to try new fitness regiments in order to shed those extra kilos gained due to holiday eating and drinking, much like Christmas, many people also decide to plant and decorate New Year trees in order to symbolize their hopes and aspiration for the twelve months ahead. Elements that are often added to the decorations are the mistletoe, candies, bright lights, etc.

People can exchange gifts, host dinner parties, wear new clothes or just spread New Year cheer and help extend the holiday spirit.

Related Posts:

Essay on Happy New Year (Celebration, New Year Eve, Importance)

In this article, we have published an essay on happy new year and its celebration, new year eve & importance for students and children.

Table of Contents

Essay on Happy New Year 2021 for Students and Children

New Year is a time where everybody thinks of treasuring the cheerful spirit of the moment. There are unique ways to experience and explore more about the story of the New Year.

Also Read – 60+ Best New year Resolution which will change your life

Happy New Year Celebration

We celebrate a New Year of January as per the English calendar. So, every religion has its calendar; for instance, the Chinese celebrate this day in February. Also, the most country celebrates it on December 31st after midnight i.e. on 1st Jan. 

Just we are not sad at the end of the old year but welcome the New Year with great happiness & enthusiasm. Similarly, we shouldn’t be sad about the last time in life instead, look forward to thinking about passaging time and welcome fresh opportunities and try to improve life through them. 

New Year Eve 2021

New Year Eve is one of the largest global celebrations because it marks the last day of the year in the Gregorian calendar, December 31; the day before the New Year. So, count down to the New Year no matter where you are in the world. 

What Do People Do in Happy New Year Eve?

You will find some people attending masquerade balls while others have costume parties. Some people also hold small gatherings or parties at their homes. Further, you will see firework displays highlight this special day Eve celebration. 

Public Life in New Year Eve

New Year Eve festive can be traced back to celebrations in Europe that date back before Christianity spread. When many people in Europe converted to Christianity , they merged these festivals with Christian beliefs and then marked holidays like New year Eve & New Year celebration. 

Importance of Happy New Year 2021

You will find a lot of celebration programs telecasting on TV and radio on 31st Dec night to give accord welcome of New Year. All the people celebrate on 31st Dec night and remember all the moments of the last year they enjoyed together. Even many countries rework on this special day at the stroke of midnight. 

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Essay on New Year

When we hear the word “New”, we ultimately get excited, whether it is new clothes, new books, new toys, or new games. No matter what is new, every new thing makes us feels good. As we have many things new, we do have a new year. After spending twelve months we get into a new year. New Year makes people feel good. Everyone waits for New Year for their respective purposes. Today, we will discuss New Year in detail.

Short and Long New Year Essay in English

Here, we are presenting short and long essays on New Year in English for students under word limits of 100 – 150 Words, 200 – 250 words, and 500 – 600 words. This topic is useful for students of classes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 in English. As New Year is coming, these provided essays will help you to write effective essays, paragraphs, and speeches on New Year.

New Year Essay 10 Lines (100 – 150 Words)

1) According to the Gregorian calendar, New Year is celebrated on 1 st January.

2) People burn fireworks, dance, sing, and organize other events to celebrate.

3) Many people go for picnics and throw parties.

4) New Year comes with new hopes, goals, promises, and dreams.

5) Malls, markets, showrooms, etc are decorated for New Year.

6) People start celebrating New Year on the night of 31 st December.

7) New Year gives us a new chance to be thankful and to forgive.

8) By saying goodbye to the old year, people wish the New Year all the best.

9) We can spend quality time with our friends and family on this day.

10) We should celebrate New Year as a new hope by forgetting past worries.

Short Essay on New Year (250-300 Words)

Introduction

We have twelve months in a year. Once these twelve years passed, we count it as one year and wait for the upcoming year. The arrival of the New Year makes people excited and they celebrate the day. According to the Gregorian calendar and the Julian calendar, New Year is celebrated on 1 st January.

New Year: A Fresh Beginning

New Year always comes with new experiences. At the start of each year, people have new hopes, wishes, expectations, and resolutions. These also give us a boost and make us excited for a new start in the New Year. People want to forget about bad things that happened or hurt them in the past year and start over. Everyone feels happy at the start of the New Year in their way.

New Year Celebration

It’s no surprise that people want to have happy parties with their loved ones to welcome the New Year. Many people also set goals for the coming year in the form of New Year’s resolutions. People can spread holiday cheer by giving gifts, having dinner parties, buying new clothes, or just wishing each other a happy New Year.

People dance, sing, and put on fun games while serving tasty food. They want to change things up and start over with more motivation in the coming year. Schools also have a lot of different kinds of events for the New Year.

All over the world, people celebrate New Year with a lot of pomp and joy. Also, they hope for the best in the future. Every year, we should greet the New Year with new energy and excitement so that our lives get even better.

Long Essay on New Year (500 Words)

New Year is a time to end the ongoing week-long Christmas celebration. The New Year comes after December. It is a time when winter is getting colder. Every restaurant and shopping mall has special discounts during New Year. All the markets, malls, and hotels are decorated beautifully. People of all ages get excited about it and celebrate it with great joy.

Significance of New Year

People of all ages and backgrounds get together to welcome a year of good health and wealth. We always learn from the New Year to keep moving forward. This is the time of year to fix broken relationships and let go of past mistakes. The beginning of a new year is a good time to leave the past behind and do a fresh start.

People are excited to start new things in the New Year. New Year’s is a historic day that should remind us of an important day in our lives. We should now learn from the mistakes we made in the past year and make a new goal for the coming year.

How New Year is Celebrated?

People start celebrating the New Year on the night of December 31. There aren’t any fixed or uniform traditions for the New Year. People from different cultures tend to make up their ways to celebrate and have fun. Many people also plant and decorate New Year’s trees as a way to show their hopes and dreams for the next year.

On New Year, people send each other messages, poems, etc with good wishes for the coming year. Greetings, cards, and gifts are given and received. Everyone hopes that the New Year will be good for them. On the last night of the year, everyone has bonfires and barbecues. On this night, everyone gets together with friends and family to have fun.

New Year in India

In India, people celebrate the New Year at different times. But most people use the English calendar (Gregorian calendar), which says that the New Year starts on January 1. On the first day of the New Year, people of all religions who live in India make different plans. People also believe that if the first day of the New Year goes well and makes them happy, the rest of the year will also go well.

People in India celebrate the New Year by going to temples, doing puja paths, and having parties with their closest friends. Many people go on picnics to spend time with their families and have a good time. When the clock is about to hit 12, they start counting down and then wish each other a “happy new year”.

New Year is a happy event that people all over the world get excited about. It gives us a chance to stop doing things that make us sad. It also motivates us to do good in the upcoming years. Therefore, we should celebrate the New Year like every festival and maintain peace and harmony.

I hope the above provided essay on New Year will be helpful in understanding different aspects of this beautiful day. Also, wish you all a very Happy New Year!

FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions on New Year

Ans. In 2023, New Year will fall on Sunday.

Ans. Mesopotamia is where the first known New Year’s celebrations happened around 2000 B.C.

Ans. According to the Hindu calendar (Vikram Samvat), New Year falls on Chaitra month.

Ans. The first calendar was made by the Sumerians.

Ans. In Ethiopia, each year has 13 months.

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My Mother, the Gambler

“Give me three numbers, baby.” My mother made this request often—so often, in fact, that when I try to remember her voice this is what I hear. I can see her, too. She’s in the kitchen, sitting at the white Formica table, the green wall phone behind her, the phone she’ll soon pick up to place her bet. She’s smiling, because this moment is capacious: everything’s possible. It’s a moment in which—unless you’re a pessimist, and my mother is not—Fortune is on your side.

She’s dressed for the occasion, in a flower-print top and stretchy yellow slacks, as if to advertise her innocence before breaking the law. Of course, for a long time I didn’t know that what my mother was doing was illegal. She certainly didn’t look like a criminal, sitting there with her blond hair intricately coiffed. The stylist had made it look like a sfogliatella , a kind of Neapolitan pastry that we often had in the house. My mother’s hair possessed the same golden hue, the same artful construction of multilayered swoops. Plus, the glossy lacquer of Aqua Net was not unlike the sugar on the pastry. That this delectable human might want my advice made me feel giddy.

I don’t recall her ever asking my brother for numbers. My brother was older, more confident, more defined as a person. Perhaps, as such, he lacked mystery. So my mother looked to me, the quiet one.

Possibly my inwardness gave the impression I might be in contact with whatever invisible forces were responsible for luck. No doubt she’d also noted my fervent superstitions, which involved the need to arrange things perfectly or to perform an action a certain number of times. It was important, for instance, that the hanging bits of my shoelaces not touch the floor and that everything on my desk be an equal distance apart. When leaving for school, I made sure to touch three separate leaves on the maple tree just outside our door. These rituals, done correctly, could stave off doom—though perhaps my mother interpreted my behavior not as an attempt to avoid misfortune but as a spell to invoke success.

What would later be diagnosed as obsessive-compulsive disorder was, at this point, just another aspect of what was openly called my oddness. I had heard my father say to strangers that he had no idea where I’d come from. Sometimes he said he’d found me in a garbage can. I was also referred to as “the Polack,” since I was light-haired and fair-skinned, unlike my swarthy parents and my brother, who looked robustly Italian; the one-quarter Polish heritage from my paternal grandmother had staked its claim in me.

At least I had my mother’s nose, and, more important, I had inherited her belief in magic. Both of us understood that in order to survive it was necessary to arrange things in a certain way. You had to take life’s terrifying unpredictabilities and rally them, by ritual or formula, into an army that would do your bidding.

There was a period of several months when I kept suggesting my mother play the same three numbers. Seven, one, four. Something about that arrangement seemed friendly, not to mention that the numbers added up to twelve, which, when added again—one plus two—gave you three, meaning the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I saw no sacrilege in this reference to the Trinity. Gambling, I sensed, was a kind of prayer—though my mother didn’t always direct these prayers toward God. Sometimes she invoked the dead, playing the birth date of a deceased relative, often her grandmother. Such bets were akin to lighting candles in church, which you had to pay for, too. Both transactions were a request to be remembered by Heaven—to be helped, or saved.

And we needed help. We were poor—though this word was not one my family used back then. “Hardworking,” my mother might have said with a smirk, rightly indicating that the people who worked the hardest often had the least to show for it. “No pot to piss in,” as my father liked to put it. A waitress and a barber, they could get only so far.

Welfare, for which we likely would have qualified, was unthinkable. My parents, the descendants of immigrants who had never been naturalized, had inherited a residue of fear and shame when it came to the government. They didn’t want their names in the system or on a list .

Besides, we weren’t starving , and we’d recently moved to a house in the suburbs of New Jersey. The first time I suggested the numbers seven, one, four to my mother, she said, “Do you mean seven, one, two?” The address of the apartment building in Hoboken where we used to live was 712 Adams Street. “The penthouse,” my father called it—a tenth-floor walkup, with ill-lit stairwells reeking of urine. The tiny cold-water flat had no heating system other than the stove in the kitchen, which explains why in holiday photographs from that time my brother and I sit under an artificial Christmas tree as if dressed for an Arctic expedition.

Still, my mother occasionally played the old number—712. Her commitment to the past was baffling. Why look to that horrible apartment building for luck, especially now that we had a house of our own?

My mother’s parents had moved in with us, too, as had my father’s widowed mother, pale and skinny—the other Polack. At first, my grandmothers seemed less than happy. In Hoboken, they’d been able to walk everywhere. Now a car was required, and neither had ever learned to drive. In fact, neither had attended high school. They were quiet and humble women who, for many years, had worked as laborers—one in a laundry, the other as a housekeeper. But their real vocation appeared to be religion. My nonna and my babcia were so devout that they seemed like witches. When mumbling their prayers over rosary beads, their tongues turned thick and foreign. And, in their bedrooms, they kept a menagerie of plaster saints—figures that lived in a flickering garden of ever-blooming candles. To me, those tiny altars were the pilot lights of our house.

I loved my grandmothers with an intensity that was almost febrile; I flushed in their presence, greedy for attention, as well as in the knowledge that it would be given. They were the women who fed me, dressed me, put me to bed. To have both of them now under the same roof was the epitome of luck.

When I was feeling particularly anxious, I would sit beside my Polish grandmother; I’d take her hand and, using one of her fingers like a pen, trace circles on my palm. At a certain point, she would understand what I needed and begin to trace the circles herself. But eventually she’d toss my hand away and say, “Enough.”

Downstairs, in a separate apartment on the first floor, my Italian grandmother was always ready to receive me. Even if I wasn’t hungry, I’d claim that I was, and soon I’d be offered a piece of crusty bread with butter, or a bowl of steaming farina.

My mother had always taken a back seat in regard to child rearing, but now she had more freedom than ever and could focus more fully on her passions. In addition to playing her numbers, the so-called Italian lottery, she bet heavily on football. Watching the games on television, she would shout at the screen, gesticulating with her perfectly manicured hands. Shocking four-letter words emerged effortlessly through scarlet lips, in a voice deeper than my father’s.

Often, she watched with my uncles, and the shouting grew so loud that it terrified me. At the time, I didn’t understand how much money was riding on the outcome. I was aware only of the cheering that would lift my mother and the men from their seats or the swearing that would make my grandmothers retreat into the kitchen. I would escape, too, usually to the closet in my bedroom. It was around this time, when I was eight or nine, that I learned the comfort of tight spaces and the pleasure of rocking my body—both of which seemed to short-circuit the fear centers in my brain.

I also began to keep notebooks in which I wrote poems with tyrannical meters—another kind of rocking. I drew pictures, mostly animals, and kept lists, often mundane—the titles of all the movies I’d seen or the first names of the kids in my class. I might record an overheard conversation, one that had confused or upset me. Some days, all I could manage was to scribble endless spirals, or to write the word “win” over and over, doing my part to help my mother prosper.

My father wasn’t a gambler, though he had come from one. His father was a truck driver who’d once, in an all-night poker game, won enough to buy a vehicle and start his own short-haul delivery business. I was also told that he’d won a horse named Lollipop—a name he thought demeaning and quickly changed to Lady. My grandfather’s plan was to train her to race, illegally, on bush tracks. But Lady, kept at a cheap stable in Weehawken, died of colic. The following year, after another winning streak—this time on boxing matches—my grandfather died, too, of cirrhosis of the liver.

The cycle of the gambler—from despair and lack to hope and reward—was endless, both frustrating and beguiling. My father had experienced this long before he’d met my mother. He understood how her addiction could lead the family in one of two directions—either up the ladder or down.

Living in a new house seemed like a miracle to me; I didn’t understand how precarious our situation was, financially—the growing debts, the heavy burden of the mortgage. Nor did I understand the kinds of people my mother was involved with. My father has never been completely forthcoming about those years, but I do know that the down payment for the house was funded in part by gambling wins.

During those early days in the suburbs, my mother seemed as optimistic as ever. She’d managed to secure a number of credit cards, on which she could access cash advances. Perhaps it was these, along with the occasional windfall from the Italian lottery, that accounted for some of the over-the-top Christmases I experienced as a child—holidays in which my brother and I received a ridiculous amount of presents. There were Easters when, instead of dyed eggs, our egg hunts featured plastic eggshells stuffed with money. Certain years, the bills were singles, but other years there were fives and tens, even twenties.

In September, before school began, my mother would drive my brother and me to Schlesinger’s, a clothing store in West New York, where we were each allowed to pick out ten items. My mother was usually in a good mood and, for the most part, unconcerned with price or appropriate attire. She’d let my brother buy two pairs of sneakers or five football jerseys. But once, when I found a skintight shirt with a sparkly rose emblazoned across the chest, my mother seemed hesitant. “You’re skinny enough,” she said—focussing more on the fit than on the fact that I’d chosen something clearly meant for a disco queen. “It looks like diamonds,” I said. The comment was strategic. My mother had recently lost the stone in her engagement ring—or had she sold it? Anyway, I managed to sway her. “Just don’t wear it to school,” she said. I promised—a lie. When my brother scowled, I understood the reason. Kids in the neighborhood had started to call me “faggot.”

I knew the word, though in my mind then it meant something like “girl”—or, rather, a boy who was like a girl. And though the insult stung I could bear it by reminding myself that my favorite people were women, and these women had once been girls.

Every Friday, my parents went out to dinner. Sometimes they attended a concert or a Broadway show. Other activities my mother did alone. On a whim, she’d get dolled up and go to the track. Some weekends, she drove to a private club, where she liked the blackjack table. I remember my father, one day, accusing her of straying too far. After that, she did what she could to make her fun at home. Once or twice a month, she hosted late-night card parties. These parties were attended mostly by women, many of whom, like my mother, sported impressive confections of hair. Cigarettes dangled intrepidly from their lips—cigarettes they could inhale without the use of hands. All it took was a deft smirk, leaving their fingers free to focus on the cards.

The games were played around our kitchen table, after my brother and I had gone to bed. My father hovered at the periphery, watching TV in the living room until he fell asleep on the couch. Even from down the hall, I could smell the women’s perfume, my mother’s Opium coming through the strongest. As the night progressed, the scents grew wilder as they mingled with the women’s sweat. These gatherings, I later learned, were high-stakes affairs. Hundreds could be lost or gained.

The day after a card party, my mother would stay in bed later than usual. Before leaving for school, my brother and I would slip into her room to ask for money. She always allowed us to peel a few singles from the roll of bills she kept in her pocketbook. Sometimes that roll was skinny; other times it was as fat as a ball of mozzarella, and just as tempting. But, even as I could read my brother’s mind (“Why not take a little extra?”), my mother could read it, too. “Don’t even think about it,” she’d growl, her voice thick with slumber.

Not long after my eleventh birthday, the house began to hum with a new energy. The phone rang constantly. “Your mother’s friends,” my father called them. “Is Sophie there?” they’d ask, if I happened to pick up the phone.

By this point, she was not only playing her numbers but also taking bets for others. There was a pad beside the phone, on which she would write the caller’s name and a dollar amount, along with their hopeful chain of digits. Sometimes the word “box” or “straight” was included.

Since my mother was often out, she instructed my Polish grandmother to take down the information in her absence. When she asked what it was all about, my mother said she was doing someone a favor. Once, she said it was a game some girls were playing at work. No one questioned her, not even my father.

Now and then, the calls would come during dinner. My mother always sat closest to the wall where the phone was. Nearby, she had a tiny metal table on which she kept her pad. Mostly she’d finish these mealtime transactions quickly, but occasionally she’d get up, pulling the phone, which had an extra-long cord, all the way into the living room.

Whatever secrets she had seemed connected to our growing prosperity. During the summer, we were able to go to the shore for a week, stay at a hotel, eat three-course dinners in restaurants that looked like fishing boats. In the evenings, on the boardwalk, we’d play the wheels, shoot the guns, toss the balls. When the vacation was over, we drove home with the fruits of our good fortune—stuffed animals, cartons of cigarettes, goldfish in plastic bags. My brother and I put the fish in a water pitcher or a mixing bowl, hoping they wouldn’t die. Eventually, my father installed a pond in the yard, and the goldfish flashed around for years, reminding us of our luck.

That is, until the day my brother and I came home from school to find police cars parked in front of the house. My fear, always a trickster, convinced me that the police cars had something to do with me; I was not a normal person, and I knew that one day I’d be punished. My impulse was to get away, maybe hide in the woods near our house. But then my brother ran up the front steps and through the door, and I followed him.

Inside, all the lights were on—something my father never allowed. There were men everywhere, some in uniforms, some in suits. I rushed down to my nonna’s apartment, but neither she nor my grandfather was there. When I climbed the stairs again, a female neighbor was stationed in the kitchen, saying she’d take me and my brother to her place. I refused. “Where are my grandmothers?” I kept asking. Watching the men opening drawers and looking in closets, I felt a kind of nauseous outrage. When I saw the strangers in the hallway outside my bedroom, I thought of my notebooks. “You can’t go in there!” I screamed. My brother, in a moment of tenderness, touched my arm. “Let’s go,” he whispered.

For days after the raid, I worried that the police had read my notebooks—all that incriminating evidence. I felt certain they would return to fetch me.

Of course, the cops had no interest in the scribblings of an eleven-year-old boy. It turned out they had my Polish grandmother on tape, implicated in what I heard called a “numbers racket.” She was arrested, as was my mother. The two of them were booked, their photographs taken, their fingerprints. My grandmother was humiliated. I was told that she asked to remove the crucifix around her neck before they photographed her, but that this request was denied.

I prayed at her bedroom altar, kept her candles lit. My grandmother was released. The authorities believed her when she said she had no idea what she was doing. Besides, the police were after bigger fish—one of them being my big blond mother.

But she got off, too; I’m not sure how. “Friends in high places,” I recall my father saying, while my brother, using pulp-fiction logic, had the audacity to ask my mother if she’d turned other people in. I was sure she was going to slap him. But she fell into a stunned silence, and tears came to her eyes.

“I would never do that.”

Many years later, long after my mother died, I spoke with her brother, my uncle Frank, and asked him about the people my mother had worked for. My uncle tilted his head: “Let’s just say they weren’t people you wanted to screw with.” He mentioned some names and then immediately encouraged me to forget them. He was cagey and kept trying to change the subject.

But, in the end, he did tell me a little more about the nature of the business. “Your mother was a runner,” he said. “Like a salesman. She brought bets to the bookie, got a commission.”

“But what were the numbers?” I asked. “How did that work?”

My uncle explained that, every day, there’d be a notice in the newspaper which listed the previous day’s earnings at a New York racetrack, and that the game was to guess the last three numbers of that amount.

When I asked about the meaning of “box” and “straight,” he looked at me like I was an idiot.

“You could play the numbers in their exact order,” he said. “That’s straight. Or you could box them, which meant that if your numbers came out in any order you’d win something. It cost more, but you won less.”

I was curious if my mother had ever won big. My uncle shrugged. “What’s big? Sometimes it gave her a little extra. Your mother hated having no cash in her pocket. She said it made her feel naked.” He added that most of what she’d won had gone to the princes.

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I assumed my uncle was speaking about the men my mother had worked for. But when I asked, “Who were the princes?,” he said, “Don’t be stupid. You and your brother.”

For a while after my mother was arrested, she seemed to be a changed woman. At this point, she was working as a waitress in the skyboxes at Giants Stadium. She often pulled double shifts and came home exhausted. There were no more card parties. At night, she’d drink coffee and watch police procedurals on television. She slept very little. Sometimes she played electronic poker on a small device whose chirps and dings I could hear in my bedroom. In the mornings, I’d find her sitting at the kitchen table, paying our bills or figuring out the household budget.

Strangely, even with my mother’s propensity for gambling, my father had always let her take care of the finances; he claimed that she was better with numbers.

Now and then, my Italian grandmother would climb the stairs to check on her daughter. “ Tutto bene ?” she’d ask unsteadily, clearly out of breath. She’d started to speak more often in her native tongue. Curses? Prayers? Accusations? I comprehended none of it.

My other grandmother resumed her housekeeping duties with a demented vigor, as if the scrubbing and polishing could remove the stain of her sins. She rarely spoke to my mother, the tension between them palpable. The silence was toxic; I could feel it in my chest, like smog.

My mother was too proud, or perhaps too ashamed, to apologize; and my grandmother, I assume, was too aware that she lived in our house by the grace of my parents’ kindness.

After the arrest, my babcia was easily overcome by emotion. Sometimes the cause of a breakdown seemed trivial. Once, I heard my father ask her what was going on with the towels—why were they so rough, shouldn’t she be using fabric softener? My grandmother made a strange gulping sound and walked out of the kitchen. I found her downstairs, crying as she stood beside the washing machine. “He treats me like a servant,” she said. “Your mother, too.”

A moment after her outburst, she wiped her eyes and began to defend my father: “I know he works hard. I know he didn’t mean it.” She was petting my face now, in an effort to distract me from her brush with honesty.

I understood then that there was a warning here. It seemed that if you didn’t express yourself you ended up a prisoner. And, though you might blame others for this, in truth the jailer was yourself. I was a prisoner, too. There were many things I couldn’t bear to say; instead, I buried them in notebooks. I was a coward, and my silence, like my grandmother’s, had a lot to do with shame.

No one in the house was speaking honestly. We went about our days, as before, but all of us were just pretending things were fine. Every time the phone rang, I could see the worry on my father’s face.

But, as the months passed and nothing happened, life resumed its ease. My parents had even befriended a priest. My mother, who never cooked, once spent a whole afternoon making cream puffs before he came to visit. I watched, disgusted, as he ate five, then six, then seven. I counted, of course, and later wrote the number in my notebook.

The priest wasn’t from our church; I’m not sure where my parents met him—maybe at a party. In addition to having a sweet tooth, he drank a lot of wine, and his smile was often counterfeit; I could tell by the way his eyes failed to participate.

My grandmothers, however, seemed charmed by him. When my babcia asked him to bless the house, he happily obliged, using a tiny vial of holy water. I recall feeling upstaged; apparently my own rituals were no longer sufficient to insure our safety.

Sometimes I wondered why I was working so hard. The worst had happened and my family had survived. Perhaps I could learn to resist the tyranny of my compulsions. Slowly, I let down my guard. When I tapped the maple leaves now, it was out of habit rather than as an obsessive act of magic. My grandmothers became less vigilant, too. Every so often, I would notice that, in one of their bedrooms, no candle was burning. Even today, I blame this laxness for what was yet to happen.

About two years later, I was sitting at the dinner table with my family when suddenly my brother began to cry. The moment was disorienting because my brother rarely shed a tear.

My father seemed more annoyed than sympathetic. “What?” he said.

Finally, my brother looked up. “Are you selling the house?” he asked.

My father was scowling now. “What are you talking about?”

When my brother spoke again, his words came out in jagged, breathless shards—something about a kid at school, something the kid’s mother had read in the newspaper.

Apparently, there was a notice in the paper that our house was up for sale. “Don’t be ridiculous,” my mother said. My father added, “Your friend is full of shit.”

My father didn’t rush through dinner, which calmed us. But, afterward, he got up and went into the living room, sat in his easy chair, and unfolded the local paper, where he learned that what my brother had said was true. Our house was to be auctioned off at the end of the month—not by my father but by the county sheriff.

I’m not sure what happened next; there’s a gap in my memory. Certainly, there must have been an argument, accusations, apologies. I have a vague recollection of my mother saying something about “a mistake.” My memory wakes up a few days later. My parents are whispering in the kitchen. And then the whispering turns to shouting. My mother, defending herself, sounds like an unrepentant child: “It’s not my fault!”

I later came to understand that for nearly a year my mother had failed to make the mortgage payments. She’d also secured a line of credit against the equity, and it seemed that my father’s signature on this loan was forged.

The money, most likely, had gone toward more of my mother’s prayers—numbers and horses and blackjack. “I was almost there,” she said once, her martyred eyes looking toward the ceiling. If there was sadness, it didn’t appear to be about what she’d done; it seemed to be about the fact that her magic had failed her.

My father had a new voice now, hammering, unkind; he had no patience for any of us. I was often afraid to talk to him. My father says he doesn’t recall this part of our life; other times he actively denies his aggressive behavior. My brother denies it, too. But I clearly remember the way my father would suddenly turn violent. “Get on my bed!” he’d scream, marching us toward his room. I’d hear the jangle of buckles as he opened the door to his armoire, inside of which his belts hung. I knew my father was taking things out on us that he’d never take out on my mother. Although he yelled at her, he never struck her. Some days, I feared that if my father did not whip my brother and me he might end up killing our mother.

Discipline became the doctrine of the house. There were new rules, new lines my brother and I had to be careful not to cross. When my father saw me in a ripped T-shirt I’d let dangle off one shoulder, he said I looked like a pansy. I tried to defend myself, saying the shirt had come that way and the rips were part of the style.

“Are they?” my father said. He walked toward me, grabbed the collar of my shirt, and proceeded to rip it further. In my memory, this assault feels more terrible than the whippings. I am flayed, ridiculed, reduced.

Everything about my presence seemed to irritate him. Noise was a particular issue—the volume of the television, the way I closed a cabinet, the clamor of my laughter. Of course, my father’s voice wasn’t subject to such rules. During one particularly loud argument between my parents, my grandfather lumbered up the stairs—I assumed to defend his daughter. But, instead, he joined my father and began to shout at her: “What are we supposed to do, girl? Live on the fucking street?” As he turned to go back downstairs, his grumbled invectives descended, too, into his dark Neapolitan dialect.

Later that night, I heard my father crying. The sound jerked out of him in strange squeaks, as if someone were wiping a mirror. My grandmothers, in their rooms, were crying, too.

Despite the chaos of those weeks, my father came up with a plan. He talked to relatives, friends, colleagues, and, though it must have pained him to do so, he asked each of them for a loan, any amount they could spare. Some folks could offer only a few hundred bucks, but others gave more. My mother said she could borrow a little money, too, but my father, suspicious of her sources, said no.

My mother was no longer herself. A few days after we learned about the loss of the house, she cut her hair. She now had a short, dense bristle, almost mannish. She looked like a thug, or a Buddhist nun. It was hard to understand if her new style was an act of aggression or of renunciation. While my father made frantic telephone calls, my mother was often pacing in the back yard, smoking cigarettes.

Sometimes, through a window, I’d watch her; if she spotted me, she’d offer a little wave, shake her head. I always thought she was saying, “Leave me alone, go away.” But now I think perhaps she was trying to tell me something else, the same thing she kept saying to me when she lay dying: “I’m sorry, baby.”

My father kept track of his loans in a ledger, which he stored in the bottom drawer of his armoire. Before the auction was held, he managed to borrow enough to save the house—though what should have been a triumph felt more like a funeral. My father was pale, his features frozen.

As the years passed, he’d pay off what he could. At the end of every week, he’d place his hard-earned cash in envelopes, many of which he’d hand-deliver, in increments of ten or twenty dollars. All accounting went into the ledger. My father’s penmanship was like a child’s; he wrote in print, having never learned cursive. When I finally left for college, he was no longer the slim, fit man he’d been in his youth. His hair had thinned, then grayed. I didn’t recognize him.

It was the same with my mother. She was a mystery to me, her undeniable generosity chafing against the fact that she was willing to risk everything our family had.

Ultimately, my father made good on all his debts. When I asked him once how long it took, he said, “Years! I wanted to strangle your mother. But I always knew what I was getting into. Your mother was trouble from the start.” Even as he said this, though, I could see the smile held in check.

By the time my father had paid everyone back, he and my mother appeared to have made peace with each other. I’d moved to Arizona, but when I came to visit for the holidays I’d notice my parents laughing together, and sometimes I’d see them kiss. My father didn’t even seem to mind when my mother said she wanted to take a trip to Las Vegas with some of her cousins.

I flew out from Tucson to meet her. I wasn’t a gambler, but, still, I enjoyed watching her at the blackjack table, with her short blond perm, a Scotch-and-soda sweating in her hand. Whenever she won—not often—her shout was loud, and always directed upward, as if to the invisible ones who’d facilitated her good fortune.

My mother seemed happy again—but soon after turning sixty she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Once the treatments began, she had very little energy. There were no more visits to Las Vegas. My father told her to quit her waitressing job, but she said, “How can I?” The medical bills were piling up.

By then, I was determined to make my living as a writer—and though most of my family, especially my father, didn’t seem to understand my ambitions, I could tell my mother did. Now that she was no longer gambling, she began to put all her chips on me. When I won my first literary award, she threw a party that clearly cost more than the amount of the small cash prize I’d received.

“Risk everything” had always been her motto. And she seemed to understand that this was exactly what I was doing in choosing to become an artist.

Late into her illness, I began writing my first novel. After she learned I was dedicating it to her, she always referred to it as “our book.” “What’s going on with our book?” she’d say. “How much are they giving us?”

“It hasn’t sold yet,” I had to keep telling her.

“It will, baby.” I could feel her shaking the dice in her hands.

The book sold a month after she died, on her birthday. I didn’t get a fortune, but it was more money than I’d ever made in my life, and surely more than my mother had ever won at any of her games. It was hard not to feel superstitious—that my luck was somehow related to her.

Lately, I can see my mother clearly. I can see her sitting at the kitchen table with her shining tower of hair, playing cards or placing bets. Despite all the darkness and loss that was to come, I can glimpse the romance behind her schemes. And so I often think of my own work as a bet I’m placing for her.

Let’s do it , Mom. Let’s win . ♦

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New Year New Me

I’ve always been a big dreamer, so making a New Years resolution is a little challenging for me. I know that it’s better to make a SMART goal, (specific, measurable, attainable, reachable, and timely), but it’s challenging for me to find a realistic goal to follow in a year. I like to accomplish little goals, so using my past knowledge, (and a little bit of brain power), I came up with a SMART New Years resolution. I want to be a singer/songwriting-actress when I’m older, and I have been in many productions and singing competitions as a kid; this has shaped me as a person. I have worked with other people in productions, and have performed on stage. I think that if I hadn’t participated in these performances, I would probably be a little more shy. I am actually really used to being in front of people, and I’m not usually shy (when you come up and talk to me). Being in front of people just comes naturally to me, and I’m really comfortable with being in front of people and presenting in front of people. Performing when I was younger has helped my confidence grow, so it makes me feel comfortable talking to people and making friends as well as present in school. I think I need to get a lot better at telling people, “No.”. I was born a people-pleaser, so I tend to subconsciously do whatever I can to make people feel better. If someone asks for my help on something, my default answer is, “Sure, what can I do?” and I tend to take on more than I can handle. I need to get better at doing things because I want to, not because someone else wants me to. I also should try to not be as shy. I come across as shy around people that I don’t generally talk to. I’m not actually shy at all, I just know when to keep my mouth shut in certain situations... ... middle of paper ... ...ed for not standing up for me against my sister. I think that this event helped shape me as a person, because I have become more cautious of who I will trust and how quickly I choose to trust them. I’ve learned from past mistakes in many different scenarios. Whether it comes with family problems, or school problems, I’ve gotten into a really bad habit of putting things off. I wait until I’m overwhelmed, frazzled, and stressed before taking action. My New Years’ Resolution is going to be to not procrastinate. I’m going to try and accomplish the little things before they blow out of hand. I will start by making a journal for me to write down due dates and every little thing I need to do. I will also set aside homework time, and do my homework before I do anything else at school. This year is a year for making change, and I’ll make a big change, little steps at a time.

What I Learned In The Second Circle By Patsy Rodenburg

I was scared and really shy. I have always felt like people will judge me if I act dumb or if I mess up, even to this day, I sometimes find myself feeling self-conscious. This is because people’s opinions regarding me are very important to me. I have a dependant personality. Relationships are very important. I want people to like me, if they don’t like me it may mean that I’m doing something wrong. Of course I know the false in this thinking, but I still have these thoughts. This is a barrier and a weakness that I have to overcome. I think that people with dependant personalities normally make much better actors because their barrier is much smaller and they don’t care what others think of

Fine Arts Programs Should Be Kept in Schools

Performing or public speaking of any kind is difficult, but that difficulty can help to build confidence. Fine arts gives students the ability to perform and build confidence with their own support team of people who do and love the same thing. Not having to perform alone and knowing that everything possible has been done to ensure a good performance helps performers be confident in themselves and in their abilities. “Puneet Jacob, former choristers and current assistant conductor, says kids are often afraid to perform because of fear of failure.” (Lefebvre) The more a person faces their fear, especially when they do well and the fear is disproved, the less afraid he or she will become. When students work on music or a play for months on end, they become much more confident in themselves and what they can do than they were when they first began.

Colorado Christian University Research Paper

In this reflection, describe an event or an experience in your life that will influence your

Personal Narrative: My Social Anxiety In Middle School

As far back as I can recollect I have been a homebody, quiet ,and In elementary school, I didn't verbalize much.Middle school, I had social anxiety. While I was with friends or a minuscule group of people I didn't have much social anxiety if any at all.After middle school High school started and I was terrified. Summer of 2013 before my sophomore year my anxiety was to the point where it made me physically sick. My Sophomore and Junior flew by. During my middle school and high school years I have found that music is how I express my self and let stress out. Singing is my passion. My anxiety did not obviate me from singing on stage alone in front of 100 people or acting on stage during plays.The summer before my senior year I decided to ask

My goal is to completely break my practice of procrastination what I consider a bad habit. Procrastinating is an act I know that could evolve into something greater than school responsibilities such as skipping class, failing assignments, and dropping out school. If I continue to practice putting less important activities before what is more important, that could one day cause me to neglect my family. So, I want to break this habit of procrastination because it will improve my grades drastically, improve my chances of graduating with honors, and most of all, I will become a better person. I have about six more weeks remaining in my first semester as a freshman. I will take two weeks practicing to get a better understanding of my work, applying another two weeks practicing to start my assignments timely, and prio...

College Essay About Being Shy

Everyone experienced feeling shy and nervous at some point in their lives. Being shy doesn’t mean that a person lacks talent, because it just might be that they don’t feel comfortable in certain situations.

Personal Narrative: Having a Baby Changed My Life

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Reflective Essay: The Writing Process

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Reflective Essay: Detention On A Saturday

I made it my obligation to undo my wrong and be more of a leader and was able to have others follow by example. By being more friendly and thoughtful the individual was able to feel some relief and make new friends while attending school. By me being in this situation at a young age help me become fully aware of what I wanted to do in life which is helping others because of me helping and supporting this individual it made me feel positive about my change in uplifting another human being. The impact it has had on my view of bullying and torment to others now that I am older and more, wiser is when I’m in a situation where I’m thinking cruelty or someone is being cruel in my presence. I always think back to fifth grade and put myself in that persons position I also believe that this life experience will go a long way in helping others to the best of my ability with their problems or issues they are dealing with by looking beyond myself and helping my future patient I’m able to look beyond myself I feel I can be more useful and valuable to my community and peers I can teach them my life experience and what I learned so they won’t have to make the same mistakes that I have , I want my experience that I faced to change

College Essay

An event in my life that has left a lasting impression on me would be the lesson that I have learned about life. Last summer, I went to a revival crusade, which was held at the Meadowlands. There was this speaker there named Stephen Hill. He spoke of Christianity being a relationship between people and Christ, not about being a religion. I learned a lot from that revival, and I have not been the same ever since. Not only is my outlook on life different, but so is my personality. All the burdens that were so heavily laid on me were gone the day I got saved. Instead of being dependent on my family and friends, learned to rely on a being that I cannot see, but can only hope and have faith in. Faith believes in something that we cannot see. “ Faith is to believe what we do not see, and the reward of faith is to see what we believe”, (St. Augustine). This event took me out of my depression, and made me realize that I wasn’t alone. God was always watching over me. It helped me overcome the battles that I was fighting within myself.

Outgoing Person Essay

I used to be very shy, and not talk to a lot of people. It was a big part of my personality, and I would only talk to someone when spoken to. Wong explains how I acted very well, “My friends and family probably wouldn 't describe me as shy. But for me, being shy has always been about struggling to connect with people I don 't know. I fear the unfamiliarity of a stranger—how they might judge or reject me. Maybe there 's nothing inherently wrong with being timid, but when I started noticing how it affected my everyday life, I wanted to get it under control.” (para. 3). I started getting more and more talkative as I grew older, but one day I decided to change. I began to come out of my comfort zone. For example, I made myself talk more to people even though I was afraid of what I would say, but I made myself do it anyways. This helped me communicate a lot with people, because they began to respect me more, because I would also watch what I would say to them. I still watch what I say most of the time to people because one of my biggest fears is to offend someone on accident because of something that I said. Making myself talk to people more made me a much more outgoing person, which is a big part of who I

What Is Being Assertive Essay

When I was younger and even up until the past few years I have had a really hard time saying no to people when they would ask me to do things for them. Whether it would be my mom asking me to go to the store for her or teachers and friends asking me to volunteer for something I have almost always said yes. I have had to learn to be confident in my choice to say no to people because it was becoming overwhelming with trying to balance school, work, extracurriculars, and all these other commitments I was making. I felt like if I said no to these people they would be hurt and not want to come to me again and that took a long time for me to get over but once I was able to realise that I needed to be strong for myself I was able to be most assertive with them. I slowly started standing my ground whenever people asked me to do things and I said no I would not let them persuade me into doing them and I was confident in my answers. This took a long time for me but I think that this was important because without becoming more assertive just in my day to day life I may still be completely overwhelmed like I

The Golden Rule Honesty Essay

As the year 2014 came to an end, I was at a point in my “coming of age” where I decided to make a life changing decision for myself. I had several friendships and relationships that were tested by hardships of trust and communication. With the chance to start fresh with a whole year and a whole new semester ahead of me at school, I decided to make a New Year’s Resolution that I would stick with. I’m not talking about a work

Essay About Self Discovery

Eventually everyone will see that being afraid of the crowd will be a waste of their time. There are people who crack under pressure and become sick or have mental breakdowns when in front of a crowd. School is a way for kids to learn the basic fundamentals about life and to learn how to be prepared for the unexpected. I know I do not care for speaking in front of crowds or performing because I am always afraid I will mess up or look ridiculous while talking, but it is apart of life. I found that once I showed my true feelings and thoughts to my peers it was less frightening even though I still have in the back of my mind about how no one cares or how ridiculous I look. I soon learned by myself that none of those thoughts even matter. I will always be a unique person and everyone will have thoughts about me or others, but I can not let those thoughts over take my life because they may be hurtful. Overlook the past and learn from the mistakes and learn to move past those who try and let a person down about themselves. No one is worth the time to think about if they try and ruin one’s day or outlook on themselves. Self confidence will succeed to show beauty in

Examples Of Overcoming Shyness

People all over the world have accomplished things that made them who they are today. Overcoming shyness was a huge accomplishment and something that was very significant to me that marked my transition from childhood to adulthood.

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New Music Friday: The best albums out August 2

Daoud Tyler-Ameen

Sheldon Pearce

Meshell Ndegeocello's latest album, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin , is being released on August 2 in celebration of Baldwin's centennial. Andre Wagner/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Meshell Ndegeocello's latest album, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin , is being released on August 2 in celebration of Baldwin's centennial.

NPR Music's Daoud Tyler-Ameen and Sheldon Pearce dig deep into the latest release by bassist Meshell Ndegeocello, who, more than 30 years into her career, continues to melt the boundaries between genres. Her latest album, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin , is being released on the centennial of the birth of the author and activist, and overflows with musical, political and historical ideas. Also in rotation this week: new albums and EPs by Khalid, Orville Peck, Moses Sumney, Maren Morris, Smashing Pumpkins, Killer Mike and more. Featured Albums: • Meshell Ndegeocello, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin • Khalid, Sincere • Orville Peck, Stampede • Moses Sumney, Sophcore • Maren Morris, Intermission • Killer Mike, Songs for Saints and Sinners Other notable albums out August 2: • Smashing Pumpkins, Aghori Mhori Mei • Chrystabelle and David Lynch, Cellophane Memories • JPEGMAFIA, I Lay Down My Life For You • Brigitte Calls Me Baby, The Future Is Our Way Out • Los Lonely Boys, Resurrection • Tones and I, Beautifully Ordinary • X, Smoke & Fiction • WHY?, The Well I Fell Into

• Meshell Ndegeocello
• Maren Morris
• Moses Sumney
• Orville Peck

Is College Worth It To Me Essay

Every year new groups of aspiring students look forward to their college education. In that same group of highschool graduates, there are those who shy away from the thought of pursuing higher education. Many articles, speeches, or research papers regarding the topic of attending college or university focus mainly on one or two debates alone. While the question “is college worth it to me?” does seem like a yes or no question, there are many factors that play into the roll of if pursuing higher education is the right move for any given individual. The number of potential students climbs parallel to the number of college dropouts or students who simply choose not to attend. Both rising dramatically with our ever growing population, it would …show more content…

Whether the work it takes to earn a degree does not seem evenly matched with the benefits acquired, or prices of admissions and the lack of research involving student loans, more and more students have seemingly lost interest in pursuing higher education. An article written by Charles Murray titled, “Are too many people going to college” describes how few aspiring students are willing to put forth the effort it takes to attend and commit to higher education. The article also debates how occasionally college or university is simply not the right fit for some people. In many cases those people are ones who attend college simply to obtain a degree, not for the pursuit of actual higher education. This has become quite the issue in many college or university settings. Accompanying these growing problems, classrooms are filled with apathetic students who inevitably dull the mood and overall experience for those who actually enjoy the process of learning. These students who lack interest can essentially drag the moods and aspirations of their fellow students so low that those who initially enrolled for the education itself now feel a sense of emptiness. This causes more and more students each year to drop out of college or university, despite their initial

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Trump and Allies Forge Plans to Increase Presidential Power in 2025

The former president and his backers aim to strengthen the power of the White House and limit the independence of federal agencies.

Donald J. Trump intends to bring independent regulatory agencies under direct presidential control. Credit... Doug Mills/The New York Times

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By Jonathan Swan Charlie Savage and Maggie Haberman

• Published July 17, 2023 Updated July 18, 2023

Donald J. Trump and his allies are planning a sweeping expansion of presidential power over the machinery of government if voters return him to the White House in 2025, reshaping the structure of the executive branch to concentrate far greater authority directly in his hands.

Their plans to centralize more power in the Oval Office stretch far beyond the former president’s recent remarks that he would order a criminal investigation into his political rival, President Biden, signaling his intent to end the post-Watergate norm of Justice Department independence from White House political control.

Mr. Trump and his associates have a broader goal: to alter the balance of power by increasing the president’s authority over every part of the federal government that now operates, by either law or tradition, with any measure of independence from political interference by the White House, according to a review of his campaign policy proposals and interviews with people close to him.

Mr. Trump intends to bring independent agencies — like the Federal Communications Commission, which makes and enforces rules for television and internet companies, and the Federal Trade Commission, which enforces various antitrust and other consumer protection rules against businesses — under direct presidential control.

He wants to revive the practice of “impounding” funds, refusing to spend money Congress has appropriated for programs a president doesn’t like — a tactic that lawmakers banned under President Richard Nixon.

He intends to strip employment protections from tens of thousands of career civil servants, making it easier to replace them if they are deemed obstacles to his agenda. And he plans to scour the intelligence agencies, the State Department and the defense bureaucracies to remove officials he has vilified as “the sick political class that hates our country.”

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