For old times sake

The New Year is just around the corner and many, if not most, of us are busy sorting out our wardrobe in line with the color of the year, catching up on speculative predictions on what lies ahead, doing last minute grocery shopping and of course, figuring out our New Year’s resolutions.

A timeless holiday song enjoyed by thousands of people around the world and more commonly known as “Auld Lang Syne” sits at the top of our New Year’s Eve playlist as families and friends raise a glass to the year that is to come – even as we mumble the lyrics away. I learned most recently that in some cultures, Auld Lang Syne is a soccer ballad particularly in the Netherlands and a graduation song in Japan.

On the other hand, thanks to Canadian bandleader Guy Lombardo, Auld Lang Syne became a hit in the United States on New Year’s Eve and to date, for most of us, this Scottish folk-tune is associated with another year passing and remembering friends. I suppose this explains why we save this song and play it at the stroke of midnight, regardless of whether or not we memorize the entire lyrics.

On YouTube alone, there are more than 32,000 versions of Auld Lang Syne, which has actually been translated to over 40 languages. The impact of this song, though complex in its history, has proven over time how people all over the world have been touched greatly by it, considering that its original tune was set differently from how we know it today.

Nonetheless, this classic melody is attributed to the national poet of Scotland, Robert Burns, and it is inevitable that we will hear it on New Year’s Eve as we think about old friends or even family members while reminiscing on the “good old days.”

For us Filipinos, Auld Lang Syne signifies new beginnings and, true to our form, we always want to start things on a positive note. But if we delve deeper into what this song really means, for old times sake, we must also take time to reflect on the last day of the year by remembering the past, the people who have brought joy into our lives and, hard as it may be, embrace the lessons we have learned as we begin to look ahead to times to come.

The end of each calendar year gives all of us the opportunity to craft a narrative about the year we are closing out and while many of us can get engrossed on lucky colors, future forecasts and setting new goals, reflection helps us to understand ourselves better and take our learnings into our hopes for the coming year.

The final day of every year is also the time we use to reflect, renew and celebrate our past experiences – even the painful ones – for without them, we forego the opportunity to become resilient. The last day of the year is a reflective time and perhaps this is why Auld Lang Syne strikes a cord. When we think of old times, of old friends, of both joy and suffering, we must also reflect on what we are doing with the time allotted to us not just by marking it but rather, by acknowledging how we use it. Closing the year is capped by reflection and by doing so first, we are able to plan forward.

The general message of Auld Lang Syne is “for the sake of old times” and with this, we are invited to look ahead to the future by first considering the past. Reflection, as they say, marks the beginning and as we come to the end of another year, let us take a pause and a cup of kindness… for Auld Lang Syne.