Charles Lamb said:
No one ever regarded the First of January with indifference. It is that from which all date their time, and count upon what is left. It is the nativity of our common Adam.
If you are looking about for a way to mark the day, Lamb offers an example. Many people look to the future. They make resolutions and plans. But Lamb said:
I am naturally, beforehand, shy of novelties; new books, new faces, new years, — from some mental twist which makes it difficult for me to face the prospective.
Lamb was saying goodbye to 1820 and hello to 1821. He was planning to spend New Year’s Day with his memories.
• Source: Charles Lamb, “New Year’s Eve,” in Essays of Elia; London: J.M. Dent & Sons, Ltd., pp. 31-7. The quotations are on p. 32.
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