Auld Lang Syne

During The New Year celebration many of us will be kicking back a few drinks before going arm-in-arm with strangers and friends alike as the ball drops in Time Square. As tradition dictates we will be swaying and singing along (whether we know the words or not) to the 1788 Scottish folk song, "Auld Lang Syne", which roughly translates to "a long time ago".

The sentimentality of the song invokes memories of friendlier times, and holidays surrounded by loved ones. Living in Korea and walking down the streets of Gangnam during New Year's, that song playing in a shop window brought tears to my eyes. The song reminded me of home, and how much things had changed in a year.

Not surprisingly, the songs reminiscence and longing is one reason why the song was banned from the battlefield in December 1862 by the Union Army. After a terrible loss in Fredricksburg, generals were afraid that the men would desert if memories of hearth and home were evoked by this poignant song. 

For the lonely, it can be a gut-wrenching reminder of what has been lost, or what has not yet been found. Simulataneously, it also the one song during the year when people freely embrace strangers and celebrate a moment of peace. Albeit, often as a result of too much bubbly. 

As Dave Tomar of the Huffington Post put it: "Even if you haven't a clue what it means, Auld Lang Syne evokes an undeniable sentimentality, a disorienting nostalgia, an instantaneous affection for the people around you at that exact moment; loved ones and strangers alike. A New Year stands before you, brimming with possibility. Whatever the hell that song is about, it makes you well up with a distinctly wintery kind of warmth."

This year, I will be ringing in the New Year again at my friends' house in Mogadore. While my friends have definitely fallen into the "old friends" category given the number of years since we left college, they have always been by my side. Whether I come alone (pretty much every year) or with someone else, I am always welcomed into their home to share Christmas Ale by their hearth. 

New Year's Eve is a night of possibility. A new year lies ahead, and the old year is behind you. Whether it was good or bad, it will soon become a part of the past, and the new year will soon become a part of the present. Everything is possible, and everything is yet to come.

Yet as Dave Tomar once again elegantly states, "This is the first song that we hear every single year. That's a huge responsibility. Even if it's just another date on the calendar to you, even if you don't really get hung up on the whole clean slate thing, even if you're kind of a bummer to those of us who like to make a big deal out of things, it's hard not to get swept up in the momentum of this song. It tells you everything you really need to know for the coming year: Stay close to the people who matter."

As "Auld Lang Syne" plays in the background or roars loudly from the mouth of the drunk next to you, the song reminds us of what is important, the people in our lives that love us. Perhaps you will be spend the night alone, but you will not be lonely forever. Even if you haven't found the one, your life is still full of the ones who do love and care about you. It should be enough, for you and for me to get through another year, no matter what it brings.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,

And auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne,

We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

And surely ye'll be your pint-stowp,

And surely I'll be mine!

And we'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne,

We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

We twa hae run about the braes,

And pu'd the gowans fine;

But we've wandered mony a weary fit

Sin' auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne,

We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidled i' the burn,

Frae morning sun till dine;

But seas between us braid hae roared

Sin' auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne,

We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.

And there's a hand, my trusty fiere,

And gie's a hand o' thine!

And we'll tak a right guid-willie waught

For auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,

For auld lang syne,

We'll tak a cup o' kindness yet,

For auld lang syne.