Anchored – New Year

Well?

Did you stay up?

Did you manage to keep awake to ‘bring in the New Year’?

New Years Eve is observed worldwide, with countries and cultures keeping time-honoured traditions alive, and some are quirkier than others.

In Spain, for example, revellers will eat 12 grapes – one for each chime as the clock strikes midnight.

In Songkran, Thailand, New Year is celebrated with epic water fights that turn streets into fun battlefields.

In Denmark breaking plates against your friends door is a New Year tradition for some. Apparently the more broken crockery at your door the better.

Colombians can be seen walking (or running) with empty suitcases around their neighbourhoods as midnight approaches.

In the Philippines, New Year is all about circles. Polka dot clothing is common, as is the consumption of circular foods.

Russians are known to write resolutions on paper which is then burnt, and the ashes mixed with champagne which is drunk.

In Mexico, it is traditional to sweep you home from top to bottom starting at midnight.

In some South African regions old furniture gets hurled out of widows on New Years Eve.

In Switzerland, some celebrants bring in the New Year by purposefully dropping an ice cream on the floor.

Maybe you have some weird traditions of your own.

As Christians, we get to celebrate the New Year at a deeper level, one that transcends mere tradition or custom. We get to use this as a time of reflection, of renewal and as a celebration of hope.

On the first day of a new year, despite our best planning and preparation, we cannot be sure what 2026 will bring. And so rather than resolutions being burned into a drink, let us put our Hope into the God of Hope, for the year ahead. Because no matter what the coming year will bring, we, better than anyone, know that “We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure” Hebrews 6:19

Happy New Year to you all, and every blessing for 2026.

Written by Gareth McCluskey

Facilities and Compliance Manager at BBNI