Happy New Year

- Happy New Year! Today is the first day of 2026. Upon reflection, New Year’s Day is an odd holiday. Most of the celebrating happens on New Year’s Eve. Growing up, all I did on New Year’s Day was watch college football.

Halloween—you dress up. Thanksgiving—you express gratitude and eat turkey. Christmas—you celebrate the birth of Christ and give gifts. New Year’s Day?

Maybe it’s meant to be a day where you create your own tradition. For me, that tradition is starting a new journal on January 1. This year, I picked up an orange Leuchtturm1917, which will hold my spiritual thoughts for the year ahead.

My coffee is brewing, and I’ll be drinking it from a new Marvel mug I got for Christmas. Later this afternoon, there will be bowl games—and a trip to see Stranger Things in the theater.

What small tradition might you start to mark the beginning of a new year?