02/01/2026
It's Not the Real New Year. It's Still Winter ❄️
I want to share something that might help a lot be kinder to themselves right now.
This idea that spring is the real New Year isn’t new.
It isn’t a trend.
It isn’t a belief system.
It’s ancient.
For thousands of years in recorded history, humans understood that new life begins in spring, not January.
And beyond what’s written down, this rhythm goes back to the beginning of life itself.
Long before calendars, long before language, long before dates, life moved with light, seasons, birth and renewal.
That hasn’t changed.
Long before modern calendars, time was tracked by what we could actually see and feel.
The sun.
The moon.
The seasons.
Planting and harvest.
Birth cycles in animals and humans.
Across the world, the New Year began when life returned.
Ancient Mesopotamia celebrated the New Year at the spring equinox over 4,000 years ago.
Persia still celebrates Nowruz at the spring equinox, a tradition over 3,000 years old.
Ancient Rome originally began the year in March.
Celtic and pagan Europe marked rebirth through spring festivals tied to fertility and growth.
Many Indigenous cultures aligned time with seasonal renewal, not winter.
Spring as New Year is ancient.
January as New Year is recent.
So when people feel flat, unmotivated or inward in January, that isn’t failure.
That’s memory.
The body remembers an older rhythm.
One that existed long before dates were written down.
Over time, calendars changed.
The Julian calendar, introduced in 45 BC, slowly drifted out of sync with the solar year.
By the 1500s, it was around 10 days off.
So in 1582, the Gregorian calendar was introduced.
To correct the drift, 10 days were removed overnight.
In many places, October 4th was followed by October 15th.
Those days were gone.
Later, when Britain and its colonies adopted the calendar in 1752, 11 more days were removed.
September 2nd jumped straight to September 14th.
People genuinely protested.
They felt time had been taken from them.
Because to the nervous system, it had.
The months themselves stayed, but their meaning shifted.
Originally:
March was the 1st month.
September meant 7.
October meant 8.
November meant 9.
December meant 10.
That’s why the names no longer match the numbers.
January and February were later placed at the front of the year, right in the heart of winter.
So now we are taught that January 1st is the moment to restart our entire lives.
But nature doesn’t work like that.
And neither do we.
For centuries in Europe, even after calendar changes, the New Year was still celebrated in spring, around March 25th, with celebrations running through to April 1st.
When people kept honouring that natural timing, they were mocked.
They were called fools.
That’s where April Fool’s Day comes from.
Not random jokes.
A label placed on people who stayed aligned with natural rhythm rather than imposed dates.
Alongside this, many cultures followed the moon.
In Indigenous North American traditions, the turtle carries this wisdom.
The turtle shell has 13 main plates, representing the 13 moons of the year.
Each moon lasts 28 days.
13 × 28 = 364 days.
Then there is 1 extra day.
A Day Out of Time.
A day for rest.
Reflection.
Gratitude.
Ceremony.
No work.
No pressure.
No productivity.
Time wasn’t rushed.
It was lived.
So when January feels heavy, quiet or inward, that isn’t something to fix.
It’s mid winter.
Winter was never meant for becoming something new.
It was meant for planting.
Planting ideas.
Planting direction.
Planting intention.
Quietly.
Internally.
Beneath the surface.
Spring is when life moves.
New lambs.
Chicks.
Bunnies.
Shoots breaking through the ground.
Energy returning without force.
That is the real New Year.
New life, not new pressure.
So if you haven’t “started yet”, you’re not behind.
You’re in season.
Be gentle with yourself.
Be kind to your body.
Rest without guilt.
It’s still winter.
Plant quietly now.
Let ideas take root where no one can see them.
When the light returns, growth won’t need pushing.
It will happen naturally.
Be Kind To Yourself
🌬📆❄️🌞🐰🐢✨️🤍🐉🪽
