Take a cup of kindness....
As I get older I find things that I used to find silly as a child now reassuring. One of those things is the new years tradition of Auld Lang Syne.
Auld Lang Syne is a Scottish poem from the late 1700’s. And has become a tradition around the United kingdom to sing after the clock strikes 12 on New years. Growing up we would watch them all huddled in the streets of London link arms and sing the song. Sometimes my family would make us all stand in a circle and we’d join in trying to sing all the words. When I spent my second New Years away from the UK I was around 2 English people and after the countdown and everyone shouted Happy New Years!!!! They grabbed me and 2 other very confused non English people and we stood in a circle and tried to sing what words we knew. Because without even knowing this silly little song that I never understood as a child become part of us.
The older I get the more I resonate with Auld Lang Syne and at midnight this year I stood there and I sung among the people a small part of the song and thought about it. It made me sad that it wasn’t a worldwide thing really.
Now for those of you reading this thinking I’m crazy and have never heard this song, let me tell you about it. Its simple.
‘Should old acquaintance be forgotten, and never brought to mind?’ Its fitting for the first few minutes of the new year, right? We all preach new year, new me etc. But this song now that I’m older and understand the lyrics is calming. I’m not one for big changes and big new years resolutions so even something small like saying, hey lets forget those acquaintances from last year. Start fresh. Its calming.
‘We’ll take a cup o’kindness yet. For auld lang syne.’ This is my favourite line/part. Because we’re toasting to the new year, toast to kindness. Toast to being good this year. Because if you’ve got nothing else. Always have kindness.
Everyone can interpret these lyrics in their own way and have their own meanings. But for me watching, as the streets of London are filled with people singing this song in harmony in the first few minutes of the new year always fills me with hope. Its such a beautiful coming together. And its crazy to thing this poem that was writing in the late 1700’s is still around, and relevant today.
If you haven’t listening to the song before I recommend, take a moment, reflect on your year.
And if you see me next year, can we please act like we know all the lyrics and sing this together?
If you haven’t listening to the song before I recommend, take a moment, reflect on your year.
And if you see me next year, can we please act like we know all the lyrics and sing this together?
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