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An Editorial Opinion of The Greenville Advocate

Community members are preparing to welcome 2025 — the New Year. Some will host celebrations, gathering for fun, games and fireworks or watching one of the many broadcasts of a ball drop event. New Year’s Eve traditions span back to ancient Greece and a culture that embraced the coming year as a family would welcome a newborn baby.

Celebrations began centuries ago as a celebration of renewal and rebirth, eventually evolving into the promise of a hopeful future. Typically pictured as a male baby wearing only a diaper with a top hat and sash, today Baby New Year is often paired with Father Time, an elderly image symbolizing the passing of time.

Sometimes people make lists of New Year’s resolutions intended to help them launch better habits for success in the new year. And, while often lamenting their failure to keep last year’s resolutions, individuals usually pledge to renew or revise their commitments in hopes of ensuring a bright and shining future.

The Baby New Year, born on January 1, heralds all the opportunities one hopes will come with a fresh, clean calendar. Just like new life brings with it all possibilities, the New Year is a fresh beginning, a reset with the chance to correct mistakes and open previously closed doors.

Whether we intend to make resolutions or simply enjoy the hope of a new year, we all may look forward to the energy, renovation and economic generation already blossoming in our communities.

The Greenville Advocate editorial staff wishes our community members a very happy New Year.