Welcome to Happy New Year 2025

According to the Gregorian calendar, the year 2024 has passed, and we have entered 2025. This marks a significant milestone in the history of human civilization. The adoption of this calendar occurred on February 24, 1582, following a decree by Pope Gregory XIII. Initially, this calendar was followed only in Roman Catholic countries, but from 1752, it began to be adopted in Britain and America. Later, countries around the world, including India, adopted this calendar. Even though many countries have their own calendars, the Gregorian calendar is now followed in many parts of the world. Despite having their own calendars, many countries now follow the Gregorian calendar. The Gregorian calendar is now recognized as the international calendar. In the present world, it is the most influential calendar, and the Christian New Year is celebrated as a cultural festival in many countries worldwide.

We are now also dependent on the Gregorian calendar. Although our Bengali calendar still exists on paper, and we celebrate the Bengali New Year with great fanfare at the end of the year, all our official work in daily life follows the Gregorian calendar. Therefore, we also celebrate the Christian New Year with great joy. However, there remains a clear distinction between the Bengali New Year and the English (Gregorian) New Year. While the elite class and the younger generation in our country often become ecstatic, sometimes to the point of chaos, during the English New Year celebrations, such events never occur with the same intensity during the Bengali New Year. Not all sections of society participate in the English New Year festivities. This cultural divide still exists.

Nevertheless, we welcome the English New Year. We hope that in the new year, a new world will be born. We wish for the end of war, violence, and bloodshed. We hope for the elimination of the divisions and inequalities among people. We make these wishes every year, yet when the new year begins, it often carries the same old burdens. Still, people remain hopeful, and every year, their raft of hope continues to sail in the boundless sea of dreams.

Time does not move backward, it moves forward; and with time, people and human civilization change, albeit slowly. Humanity’s journey moves not toward darkness but toward light. The eternal flame of humanity will keep burning, and it is this journey that will lead humanity forward. Over 2,024 years ago, the birth of Jesus Christ occurred, which marks the beginning of the Christian calendar. Jesus, or the Prophet Isa (PBUH) in Islam, through his immense suffering, sought to convey the message of humanity. Now, the question is, how far has that message of humanity developed over the last 2,024 years? On the occasion of the new year, everyone typically reflects on the previous year, but humanity must also reflect on its entire history spanning thousands of years.

In the last 2024 years, how far has the light of humanity spread? That is the question we must reflect upon. And how much further will human civilization go? This too must be measured in the scale of humanity. Various crises are unfolding before humanity. Are we prepared to tackle them? Problems arise, and as solutions are found, humanity’s journey toward the light continues.

The new year is not just for reckless celebrations and festivities, but it is also a time for reflection, calculation, and understanding. We welcome the new year with the hope of awakening human consciousness and wishing for the welfare of all. Wishing the best for all the writers, readers, and well-wishers of VIEWS Bangladesh.