How To Start Your New Year With God
It’s a Celebration!
Unificationists can look forward not just to one New Year’s celebration, but two! While January 1st marks the beginning of the New Year on the solar calendar, Unificationists also celebrate God, our Heavenly Parent, on the Lunar New Year as an important spiritual holy day.
When Rev. and Mrs. Sun Myung Moon first established this holy day in 1968, Rev. Moon shared these sentiments about God:
“People have celebrated birthdays, anniversaries and national holidays; but never have men and women in full attendance of God celebrated Heavenly Parent’s Day. How sorrowful this is that for so long there was no day to celebrate God, but only humanity celebrating themselves!”
The lunar calendar has long been used to mark important holy days in many religious traditions. The moon is a symbol of the feminine—the woman’s womb aligns with the moon’s cycle. The moon’s life in the sky from “full” to “new”, and back again, also signifies a process of cleansing and rebirth. We can appreciate the more feminine aspect of this heavenly body, in contrast to the masculine sun. Charting our days by the lunar calendar, we celebrate the feminine aspects of creation and the dual nature of God. The conversion to the lunar calendar has less to do with how we measure dates, and more with the spiritual significance of the time in which we live. It is a time of great blessing, where new things are possible!
New Year’s Motto
A long standing tradition of Unificationists on this day is to ring in the new year with a motto to guide us in being conscious of our roles within our families, communities and the world. Father and Mother Moon wrote down New Year’s mottos to encourage Unificationists to actively practice a Divine Principle inspired life. Our current motto is, “Let us become the true owners of Cheon Il Guk (God’s Kingdom) who practice true love in resemblance to our Creator, the Heavenly Parent!”
At the stroke of midnight, heads bow as Unificationists spend their first moments of the year in prayer and gratitude connecting the best in their lives to God. Many reflect on the year that has passed, and make resolutions for the one ahead. Surrounded by friends, family and good food, representing the abundance of all things, they share this day with God and each other. Watch this 1980 clip of Rev. and Mrs. Moon singing one of their favorites, a Korean folk song about living together as a happy family.
So, just in case you haven’t quite mastered your New Year’s resolution from January 1st, you might use this opportunity to map out your spiritual new year with these three simple steps.Happy New Year everyone!