Why is New Year so “hyped up”?

As we are starting off the year 2022, let’s talk about the New Year. The biggest party of the year is the “hyped up” New Years Eve Party: family, party hats and crazy glasses, the infamous new years kiss, the champagne ( for adults of course ;) ) and the screams of the countdown and fireworks for when the clock hits 00:00, 01/01. But why is this celebration so big?

This year, it just went from a random Friday to a Saturday. Can’t we be with family, wear party hats, drink champagne and kiss any day of the year?

It is on new years day that humans reflect most on their life making it the most active-minded holiday of the year. The biggest conversation of the week is on the good and bad of the previous year. There must be a reason for this animal-like behaviour when partying on new years eve… And there’s your answer: Evolution. Two main premises of the theory of evolution (taken from our beloved Mr Popov’s psychology textbook) is the “need to survive” and “survival of the fittest”. Our motivation to survive is what brings us into putting our efforts towards having brand new resolutions, which are what we want to improve on to make our lives healthier and better, hence surviving longer. Yes, there is a very high chance you will not be keeping all 32 resolutions you have made, but the New Year forces us to reflect on ourselves and every aspect of our lives. Resolutions are derived from looking back at the year before, evaluating the pros and cons, strengths and weaknesses, and proceeding to improve all areas of life. “As the environment changes, organisms need to adapt to this change. Scarce resources (such as food and mates) make organisms fight for survival” (Popov, 2018).

Another factor of the behaviour of our determined resolutions created on the “hyped up” New Year is due to “perceived control” and “perceived confidence”. We tend to attempt changes in our lifestyles and future behaviours/actions when there is a belief that we can actually enact that change and without a strong self-efficacy message, people will not actively improve their life. We avoid attempting a change in situations where we may feel that we do not have control or expect to fail. This is part of the “Theory of Planned Behaviour”.

So, when perceived confidence and control is taking over the resolutions made over the New Year, there are high expectations and complete excitement the night before for this “supposedly better” year. Therefore, indicating the New Year to be so “hyped up”.

By Emilie Grobe (13F)

Bibliography:

Anderson, P. (2019, July 31). Happy New Year, Happy life: What is the meaning of New Year's Day? AgeCare. Retrieved January 2022, from https://www.agecare.ca/happy-new-year-happy-life-meaning-new-years-day/#:~:text=It%20is%20happiness%20that%20is,to%20people%20throughout%20the%20world

North, T. C. (2015). The 12 benefits of increasing your self-confidence. DR. TC NORTH. Retrieved January 2022, from https://www.tcnorth.com/building-confidence/12-benefits-increasing-self-confidence/

Popov, A., Seath, D., & Parker, L. (2017). Psychology for the IB Diploma - Course Companion (2nd Edition, pp. 108-109, 341-342). essay, Oxford University Press.