Why Getting Drunk and Making Resolutions on New Year’s Are Profoundly Religious Acts
http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/12/why-getting-drunk-and-making-resolutions-on-new-year-s-are-profoundly-religious-acts/282744/The holiday is full of rituals echoed in faiths and cultures all over the world.
EMMA GREEN
DEC 31 2013, 3:06 PM ET
A New Year's Eve celebration or a religious ceremony? (Reuters)
If you Google the question, “Why do people make New Year’s resolutions?”, you’ll find all sorts of reasons: There’s a psychological appeal in setting goals; the ancient Romans used to offer resolutions to the god Janus, for whom January is named; humans love the feeling of hope, etc.
But there’s another explanation: New Year's resolutions play a role similar to religious observance in our lives.
Wendy Doniger, a professor at University of Chicago Divinity School, spoke with me about the symmetry between religious rituals and New Year's traditions. "The idea that you're suddenly going to change is a magical idea," she said. "Religions are in charge of magic for most of us. This [idea] gets into the popular culture as well." She's using "magic" as a sort of sociological explanation for the role faith and ritual play: Religious belief is predicated on the assumption that there are forces beyond our control or understanding that influence our lives (i.e., magic, if you're a sociologist; God, if you're a monotheist).
Although New Year’s traditions aren’t explicitly religious for most people, many of them share the patterns of religious ritual. The theme of the holiday—that this is a time to start over and be a better person—shows up in faiths and cultures throughout history. Wearing sparkly hats, drinking champagne, and promising yourself that you’ll actually go to the gym this year may seem silly, but structurally, these acts have a lot in common with religious observance.
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Thanks for posting it. It definitely got me thinking. I suppose there's a case to be made if you're using a particularly broad definition of religious or magical. Do any type of celebration or ritualistic behavior qualify? Possibly.
Otoh, I think humans are hard wired to see patterns, milestones, set goals. I think New Years is a time for taking stock- how'd last year go? What can I do better? It's a time for enjoying the good and fixing the bad. Nothing makes January 1st particularly different than Dec 31st, any more than you're any different the day before or after you turn 30 or 40 or 50- but it can feel different- in the same way stores are aware that if they price something at $20 it will psychologically feel more expensive than if they price it $19.99.
So, we treat that turning of the year as something of a clean slate. New Year, new you. Not necessarily focusing on a higher being to help make it different, but a sense based on how we process things that there is something different once we pass that milestone.
Just for disclosure, I'm Wiccan, so certainly not denying the ritual/"magical" nature of many parts of our every day and public life. I do think the appeal of New Years has a lot to do with how we process things and may not be overtly religious.
Dunno if this makes a lot of sense, but my first thoughts 
