With the beginning of a new year, everyone decides it is
time to purge their old habits and start anew.
We all feel like we have to get rid of unwanted pounds or old clothes or
things we deem unnecessary in our lives.
This January, as I was watching my children and husband kneel down on
their knees, lay their hands on the ground and bow their heads to the floor in front of my parents, what
came over me was not the desire to get rid of everything last year or to forget
any hardships that we may have encountered in the past; but rather, the need to
savour the meaning in the things that have happened. What I saw in that moment was my son and
daughter learning to honour their awaiting grandparents, wishing them good
health and prosperity in the coming year. I saw my husband adopt a cultural
tradition not his, to respect his wife’s parents for a happy new year. And I
saw a nostalgic ritual that I used to perform every January 1st for
my own grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles.
No matter how old we get, no matter how old our parents get and no
matter how old our children get, this moment bound all these relationships
together with a thread of respect and love and honour. As we step into the new year with hopes and dreams
and wishes, let us also remember, honour and hold onto the old. 새해 복 많이 받으세요
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