Come to think of it, why not? Since one’s birthday also constitutes a full year around the sun, greeting anyone ‘happy new year’ on their natal day is technically correct. If you think about it, the blanket celebrations we all indulge in during new year’s eve worldwide are less personal than, say, a birthday any individual celebrates. A person’s recollection of their very first moments, juxtaposed with all that had transpired in their life in a year’s time, makes for quite a contemplation and deeper inward assessment during one’s “birthday”. A selfish thought perhaps but quite simply, it’s definitely more personal and meaningful than the herd version we all have of what new year is.
I hope you know what I mean. I really have nothing against the concept behind new year celebrations and this isn’t even a call to besmirch it or to do away with it. As a matter of fact, I even regard such celebrations as akin to one great group hug. In fact, I even urge that there’s nothing wrong in celebrating it as a people, as a family or any other delineations we have or belong to. As a race, we need such activities even, as sign of our solidarity.
With that said, let’s just go back to birthdays. For as long as I could remember, birthdays for me meant a full circle around the sun, much like our celebrations of new year. Celebrating the number of years I have lived on this earth, for me, is more important than celebrating the number of years which say the how old mankind is when he first started to consciously count how long we were here. As for me, I can only count and account for my stay here. But doesn’t that make more sense?
At least, if it could only be done (perhaps in another multiverse), we could give new year celebrations a new name. And what of birthdays then? I’m still trying to figure that out.
