Happy New Year?

[simont]

[Poll #1118235]

ETA: Whoops. Yes, I have shamefully made the unwarranted assumption that people wishing each other ‘Happy New Year’ are doing so in response to the turning of the Gregorian calendar. If you're not, either don't answer the poll, or do something sensible and appropriate such as translating the year so that 1 January is your own new year day. Sorry about that. And yes, I also shamefully missed out the option for people who never wish each other ‘Happy New Year’ at all. Sorry about that too.

Comments

[meirion.livejournal.com]

Not everyone celebrates the New Year at the same time. Not sure when the Chinese New Year is (apart from "some time in February, I think") so can't answer the poll. Greek Orthodox is yet to come; Muslim is around now; and a stickler Christian would say that the beginning of Advent is the real New Year.

So, a moveable feast, indeed.

[simont]

True, although the next question is, would adherents of any of those traditions generally wish one another "Happy New Year" in the office in the way that people tend to based on the UK calendar? (They might, for example, use some other language or form of words appropriate to their tradition.)

[1ngi.livejournal.com]

I'm still wishing people Happy New Year in emails etc if I haven't seen them. I'll prob continue until sometime in Feb if it is a face to face meeting although it is done with a wry laugh and a comment that we should have been a bit better at arranging to see each other sooner. It seems appropriate to catching up with clients and giving them the opportunity to talk about their plans for the coming year.

[emperor]

I think it depends on who they are (==how well I know them) and how frequently I normally see them. If my work-mate Bob has been on sabattical in January-March, I might humourously wish him a Happy New Year when he eventually turns up in the office in April. I think that beyond January I'm unlikely to remember that I've not seen someone since the New Year, though...

[lnr]

I don't think I could put a date on it, but any time in the first couple of weeks on January doesn't seem odd at all to me, it depends a lot on the person though.

[atreic.livejournal.com]

First time I see someone in the new year, up until the point I forget it's a reasonably new year. So definitely around now, but I doubt I would outside January.

[simont]

*nods* I'd guessed that forgetting it was a new year would be a major cause of people ceasing to say it. Though I think my attitude is more that New Year is a celebration of the time when the year changes, not of the fact that it's new in general; so much as I wouldn't say "happy birthday" to someone who changed age a month ago and I hadn't seen them since, I wouldn't say "happy new year" unless I actually saw them at, or closely around, the New Year week.

[stephdairy.livejournal.com]

Of course, it used to be 25th March...

(S)

[k425.livejournal.com]

Half my academics won't wander in until the end of the month, so that's the first chance we'll have to say HNY and catch up on how the Christmas break was.

[fluffyrichard.livejournal.com]

My postlady wished me Happy New Year this morning: I only see her every couple of weeks (usually when Louise has received something bulky from a foreign brownie unit).

[gerald_duck]

The points at which I divide up the year seem to be:

• the cluster of anniversaries and commemorations at the February/March boundary
  
• Easter
  
• the first day of Summer (defined by when I stop wearing a sweatshirt outdoors)
  
• the cluster of anniversaries and commemorations at the August/September boundary
  
• November 5th
  
• Christmas/New Year

…so towards the end of February I'll leave my "new year" mindset and instead start thinking about impending birthdays and departed friends.

All the events at the February/March boundary are fairly personal to me, though, so I wouldn't expect my poll response to generalise well.

[sunflowerinrain.livejournal.com]

Oops sorry, clickèd and then saw the addendum. New year is March for me...

I shall re-do it.

[simont]

OOI, from what does that particular New Year date derive? I looked through Wikipedia's list on the subject, but nothing jumped out as obviously the right one...

[sunflowerinrain.livejournal.com]

21 March, the vernal equinox -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%27%C3%AD_calendar

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

I read that as "venal equinox" :)

[sunflowerinrain.livejournal.com]

I started thinking of likely meanings for the phrase and... quickly desisted.

[cartesiandaemon.livejournal.com]

Me too, I think I sneakily shuffled the affliction off to you to rid myself of it :)

[oneplusme.livejournal.com]

Count me amongst the "never" camp. Although out of simple politeness I'll typically respond in kind if someone says it to me.

[pm215]

Yeah, I'm "never except perhaps as reciprocal politeness".

[feanelwa.livejournal.com]

I was surprised when people wished me a happy new year on Monday because I had forgotten by about Friday that there had been a new year.