December 31st could be another mundane day on the calendar. Objectively, we know for a fact that the change of year will not revolutionize our lives, that what is valid today will still be valid tomorrow.
However, New Year’s celebrations have existed in all cultures since ancient Roman times and even since Babylonian times. Everywhere, we oscillate between the invitation and the injunction to the party.
And this year, even without extravagance, even in a small committee or by interposed screens, we bet that no one will resist the temptation to underline this passage, however essentially symbolic. And that’s perfect! Because if this ceremonial act has become a collective rite, it is because it expresses renewed hope or, better still, the imperturbable hope.
Pandora
In Greek mythology, curiosity led Pandora to open a forbidden box from which all the evils of mankind escaped. Only hope remained at the bottom of this box when Pandora closed the lid.
Several interpretations of this myth are possible. I like to see the idea that evils fly away, while hope remains.
Covid
The arrival of the coronavirus has undoubtedly opened Pandora’s box. This microscopic infectious agent has challenged our lifestyles, compromised our plans and taunted our certainties.
Since then, illness, mortality, anxiety, confinement, loneliness, queues, shortages, inflation, reduced freedoms, poverty, social and political disturbances, and many other crises have taken place in our societies or have grown in scale. . Fortunately, perhaps thanks to Pandora, nothing can get the better of hope. Rather, it is this which gives life its flavor, which allows everyone to build their own edifice.
At the dawn of 2022, while the health context remains anxious and uncertain, celebrating hope is more necessary than ever.
It is said that “order is born out of chaos”. The virus has created chaos. Now hope the order is coming very soon!