Welcoming the New Year

With the semester ending at Maria College and the Spring 2017 semester soon to begin in mid-January, with the year 2016 about to come to close on December 31 and 2017 to begin, and with the past behind us and the future ahead of us, I have the tune to the familiar New Year’s song Auld Lang Syne echoing in my head.

Now, we have all heard this popular New Year’s song, but the meaning is not easy to grasp, especially since the words “auld lang syne” are from an old Scottish phrase! As a matter of fact, at the end of the movie When Harry Met Sally, Billy Crystal’s character asks Meg Ryan’s character what exactly the song means. Take a look at this sweet scene.

Thanks to the power of Google, finding the history and meaning of the song is now easy. Here is a link to a set of documents from The Morgan Library and Museum in New York City that offers about as much information on Auld Lang Syne as anyone could possible want.

Most importantly, the words “auld lang syne” mean “old long since” and have been updated into modern English to mean “time gone by” or “old time’s sake” which fits well with the word “for”: for old time’s sake.

Indeed, as one year ends and another begins, we all look back at what has happened, both the good and the bad. Hopefully, we can learn from the past and take that knowledge and experience into the future. As the founder of the Sisters of Mercy, Catherine McAuley reminds us: “The simplest and most practical lesson I know…is to resolve to be good today, but better tomorrow. Let us take one day only in hands, at a time, merely making a resolve for tomorrow . . .”

For you, my dear readers, I have some thoughts and wishes for the New Year of 2017:

May you use the past as a foundation to build today and tomorrow, not as an anchor to pull you down.

May hope always be in your heart.

May you remember old friends and make many new ones.

May laughter be a part of every day for you.

And may 2017 be a year filled with God’s blessings for you.

Until next time . . .

Anne