Happy New Decade, Filled With Travel and Connection
A countdown, champagne bottle pops open, and we wish eachother and our friends a happy new year. It’s 2008 and our first New Year’s celebration as Parisians. After the wishes, we go outside, bottle and glasses in hand. We expect fireworks. And people. But find none of that.
A year earlier, we were still in Amsterdam. In typical Dutch tradition, when the old year turns into the new, champagne and hugs and kisses flow quickly after which everybody rushes outside and starts lighting up the sky with fireworks. The first hours of the New Year are marked by a brightly lit sky and bangs all over the country. In our Amsterdam street, there’s a guy with professional fireworks. Louder bangs, brighter flashes than anybody else. Evil spirits are properly chased off.
Obviously, there’s a dark side to this ritual. From miniscule burn holes in coats, to lost eyes and digits. A dark side that in The Netherlands is certainly a prominent topic of public debate the last few years. Rightfully so.
Back in 2008, our normal was the literal explosion of fireworks in the sky and people on the streets with which the new year was welcomed. So that was what we expected in Paris as well. Of course I had celebrated New Year’s eve in another country before, noticing that that explosion was not as, well, explosive as in The Netherlands. But I did not expect us to be basically the only cheerful people in the street. The occasional passer-by that we wanted to wish a happy new year crossed the street and hurried away. Afraid of the cheerful Dutch bunch.
Tonight, the yearly change from December to January is upon us again. This time we even change decades. From the ’10s to the ’20s. I’m not sure about last century, but I am not aware of the decade of the 1910s having a nickname. The decade after became known as the Roaring Twenties. That holds a promise for the coming decade. Although I really hope that the shocking events of the thirties and fourties of the last century will not be repeated. Still, a creative decade would be welcome. One in which we gently steer away from polarisation. Maybe through travel we get to spend more time getting to know the other. Maybe through creativity we start listening to others again. Maybe we can connect again.
So, have a great night tonight. And as today becomes tomorrow, find yourself on the doorstep of a new decade. A decade in which you can make the difference.
Have a happy new decade, full of beautiful experiences, meetings with wonderful people and exciting stories!
