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NEW YEAR?

Canon Edward Probert (Tuesday 1st September 2009)

There are more new years than you can shake a stick at. 1 January is obvious. There is of course cultural variation of practice, such as Chinese or Jewish new years. But within long-standing English patterns we also live with an academic year which starts this month, a Church year which starts in Advent, and a financial year which starts on the 6th April (for the government) or 1 April (for the Cathedral).

Lady Day, 25 March, was for several centuries new year’s day, in our own Cathedral leading to the notable monument which appears (to the modern eye) to record the death of an infant before it was born. In a sense this date is still the new year. When the calendars were changed in the 18th century and 11 days were lost in the adjustment, 25 March suddenly became the 6 April, and left us with our financial year’s start.

All of which can cause a degree of confusion. Some organisations try to cut a rational and simpler path through this. For example the Methodist Church begins everything – new ministries, accounts, and so on – in September. But such mental tidiness can still cause complications, as I found out trying to merge the financial affairs and administration of a parish church with the Methodist church which was our partner.

In fact we all live with more untidiness than we sometimes recognise, and we seem to manage. In other words, systems don’t have to be perfectly neat and rational to work reasonably well, and we all seem to get along with a diversity of practice.

Finally, life is full of fresh starts! Which means that others may be subject to pressures that don’t affect us – so spare a thought for those making a new beginning academically right now. But it also means that there are numerous reminders to practise turning our attention from backward to forward.

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