At the end of another year plagued by variants of the pandemic, troubled by the climate crisis and mired in cultural conflicts, we can all feel levels of emotional, mental and spiritual fatigue. Once again, it makes sense to wish for this long year to end as our souls naturally long for something rejuvenating and restorative.

Although there can be no quick fix for the troubles of this world, the aim of traditional New Year rites was precisely to end the reign of the old year and start everything anew. Not by denying problems we must face, but by returning to the beginning of time and seeing all of life as part of something sacred and renewable.

Never simply a matter of turning a calendar page, the essence of New Year rites came from seeing each year as a complete cycle. The seasons of each year were a reflection of the course of nature where life becomes depleted and repeatedly ends, only to begin all over again. As becomes more apparent in these troubled times, the year becomes worn out, depleted and empty. Since the damage to the old year cannot simply be repaired, it must be abolished in order to empty the present and make the potentials of both individual and collective life possible again.

Traditional New Year events served as an annual rite of passage in which time became renewed amidst the chaos and confusion of life. The underlying cosmological, mythological idea is that the old year, damaged by mistakes, losses and misdeeds, can be dissolved through a break in time that opens to moments of eternity that renew life and allow everyone to start over again.

Symbolically participating in year-end rites did not facilitate a return to some simple sense of “normal,” but rather precipitated a creative turning to connect to the capacity of life to renew itself. By participating in the mystery of death and renewal, people could enter “creative time,” be temporarily delivered from faults and failings and be restored to their original life potentials. This essential sense of rejuvenation and restoration becomes of great importance in these dark and exhausting times.

Traditional rites might focus on extinguishing and rekindling hearth fires or using candles to reflect the light of life hidden in the darkness at the end of the year. Ritual washings and purifications served to dissolve and remove the effects of mistakes and faults on both individual and collective levels. Practices of contemplation and/or dance and song were understood to be preparations for a re-generation of time, but also the core energies of life and of love.

Of great importance would be the acknowledgement of mistakes and losses that occurred during the year. The point was not to lay blame on anyone, but rather to name errors and faults in order that they might be forgiven. Forgiveness of oneself and others turns out to be an essential ingredient in all attempts to rejuvenate, restore life and be able to imagine a better world.

Whether we find ourselves limited to small groups of family or friends or even alone, we can find ways to break time and open ourselves to timeless things. Whether we light a bonfire or a single candle, we can use the flames to burn statements of mistakes made or acknowledge losses suffered. We can use nearby waters to pour libations, make ablutions and wash away both fears and faults. Not because our faults can simply be dismissed, but in order to break time, open the moment and allow ourselves to be touched by the eternal and become able to contribute to beginning it all again.

We at Mosaic wish for you and for all of us, that we might allow ourselves to be touched by the eternal, be blessed by the sacred and become more able to help with the healing of the earth and each other.

All blessings of the New Year on you and those you hold dear.