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Most people, especially Christian believers around the world, organize special watch night services on December 31st each year to herald the New Year. In Ghana, most churches organize what they call Crossover Services.
But what exactly do we Christians have to cross over on 31st night. Certainly, it is neither a bridge nor a river we need to cross over. What really happens on that night (12:00 a.m.) is a mere change of one calendar year to another.
And from January 1, people celebrate the New Year with fireworks. But have you asked yourself what a new year is all about or what makes a year new? A new year is simply a new period of 12 months or 365 or sometimes 366 days expressed in a change of a new date.
In other words, a new year is nothing, but a change of a date. Besides, what is the difference between December 31, and January 1? What is new about them? Clearly, you can see that the only difference between them has to do with the differences of the dates. Nothing else.
Again, which change does a new year bring you after being led to ‘cross over’ to it? Understand that just as it was in the previous year, so shall the new year also be. The days, weeks and months would be the same; they will never be new.
The seasons, the sunshine and the moonlight will remain the same. Birth and death will remain; sowing and reaping will continue. It is also likely that most challenges and situations in people’s lives will continue or change as usual in the so-called New Year.
Of course, dates on many products on the market may change. Number plates on vehicles will also change in the New Year. Other things may change as pre-determined by God.
What then can really make a year new? A nation or an individual can make a year new by their own new decisions, efforts or actions. We make a year new by new decisions we make, new course of actions we take and new principles, practices, strategies or SMART objectives we set in order to achieve new results.
So, now, is a new year not a scam? And what do we have to cross over? Absolutely nothing. We can see mere dates change every day, every month and every year. That is why life continues as it is after every 31st December watch night service.
By James Quansah
