Why Getting Drunk and Making Resolutions on New Year’s Are Profoundly Religious Acts

[xchrom]

http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2013/12/why-getting-drunk-and-making-resolutions-on-new-year-s-are-profoundly-religious-acts/282744/


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.

[postulater]

1. Oh I thought it was about puking the bad stuff out.