We all have rituals around the celebration of New Year.

In our highly urbanised cosmopolitan community some gather in large crowds to watch bright lights in the night sky for a brief period of time.This ritual is not inclusive of animals.

I often wonder if the same people ever stop to marvel at the night lights and formation of the galaxy around us, but that is another post.

This ritual gathering often includes spontaneous outbursts of affection,greetings and embraces

There are also those who consume incredible ammouts of intoxicating liquid to ward off the humidity and then have trouble remembering what happened on the last day of the previous year.

I have a ritual which is performed on the 1st January each year: the transition of the calendars.

Despite the advances in electronic communication and information at our finger tips, I still love to gaze at calendars.

It seems the market for calendars has not diminished as stalls of themed calendars are now standard at shopping centres. The promotion of the mid year calendar means that these stalls have business all year round.

Calendars have always been a staple gift that you can hardly return because “it doesn’t work anymore” .

I began to keep old calendars about 15 years ago so I can re-cycle those with the same date pattern. It was exciting to discover that this year I can reuse my 2009 calendars again.

One calendar is never enough in a household. I like to have one in the living area, one in my study and of course the “rest room” deserves one for those pondering moments. Thanks to politicians we also receive handy fridge calendars.

So, welcome to this year’s Calendar collection at Casa Robertson and may your new year of 2015 be filled with wild adventure, passionate living and commitment to building a just and fair society.

From the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar

The Meaning of New Year’s Traditions