NEW YEAR RITUALS: How They Strengthen Families, Sharpen Minds, and Make Food Taste Better
Photo source: unitednationsofphotography.com
New Year and Christmas may seem familiar, simple, and straightforward holidays from childhood. However, this apparent simplicity is concealed behind rituals that modern science continues to uncover, revealing deeper and more profound meanings.
STRENGTHEN YOUR MARRIAGE: CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS THE RIGHT WAY!
Many cultures believe that the way you welcome the New Year sets the tone for the year ahead. This idea even has scientific grounding. New Year’s celebrations are among the oldest rituals, traditionally uniting families and communities. Beyond their religious and mythological significance, these rituals hold a clear psychological purpose.
American psychologists who study holiday traditions have found that such rituals play a central role in modern family life. If couples want to experience true happiness in their marriage, family rituals are essential. You can create your own or draw inspiration from cultural traditions.
Christmas is one of the most eagerly awaited holidays, rich with rituals. Research shows it significantly boosts life satisfaction, as well as feelings of safety and comfort. Celebrating Christmas with family brings joy and peace.
A HOLIDAY RESTORES OUR SENSE OF CONTROL
Holidays offer psychological relief by eliminating uncertainty. We know exactly how to celebrate Christmas and New Year — everything repeats year after year, from well-wishes for health to raising glasses for a toast.
But why don’t we get tired of it? The answer lies in the fact that everyday life involves solving a variety of unexpected problems. Holiday rituals, however, carve out a special, magical, and sacred space from the ordinary.
In this space, we are free from unpredictability. New Year rituals make our world feel predictable, providing structure, stability, and control — elements often lacking in daily life. That’s why every part of the Christmas ritual matters: decorating the tree together, sharing a family dinner, exchanging gifts, and counting down the final seconds of the year…
All of these moments are important because they form an emotional and ritual foundation for long-term mental well-being.
WHY DO RITUALS WORK?
Rituals remain a psychologically understudied yet pervasive feature of human cognition and social behavior. The challenge is that many rituals appear to modern «civilized» individuals as causally opaque practices.
Beyond mythological thinking, we struggle to interpret the cause-and-effect relationship between specific actions and desired outcomes. For example, how are synchronized dances connected to invoking rain?
Anthropologists are often surprised to find that despite a lack of clear causality, such practices seem to work for «primitive» cultures. Yet, modern humans are not so different.
We may not fully understand the causal link between making a wish on New Year’s Eve and its fulfillment. Yet, for reasons we can’t entirely explain, we continue to follow these traditions — just as our ancestors did thousands of years ago.
NEW YEAR RITUALS TEACH CHILDREN TO MANAGE THEIR DESIRES
Despite being a universal cultural phenomenon and the focus of extensive anthropological studies, rituals remain insufficiently explored. Nevertheless, there is scientific reasoning behind the widespread perception of Christmas and New Year as primarily «children’s holidays».
It’s impossible to imagine New Year celebrations without children making wishes! Recent studies support the hypothesis that it’s not just any group activity but participation in rituals specifically that strengthens a child’s sense of belonging to a group.
It is quite likely that when a child makes a wish, just as those around them do, it represents an important step in socialization. Through this process, children learn to work with socially and personally meaningful goals. But New Year rituals also help adults achieve their aspirations.
Swiss researchers discovered that most people make New Year’s resolutions related to physical health, weight loss, and dietary changes. Remarkably, 55% of respondents managed to keep these promises. Most of them had made their resolutions in the presence of loved ones and later received social support.
NEW YEAR’S FOOD TASTES BETTER
The New Year’s feast is always special — not just because the dishes are prepared using unique holiday recipes. A series of scientific experiments have confirmed the hypothesis that ritualistic behavior enhances consumption. These studies examined both «holiday» foods (like chocolate and lemonade) and «everyday» items (such as carrots).
The results showed that participants who engaged in ritualistic behavior rated the food as more delicious and valuable. Those who didn’t take part in rituals enjoyed the same foods significantly less.
It also turned out that random gestures associated with eating do not stimulate consumption as effectively as rituals do. Moreover, actively participating in a ritual enhances enjoyment more than merely observing it.
New Year’s recipes have not only culinary but also psychological ingredients. The longer a dish is prepared, the tastier it seems. The time invested in creating «something special» adds extra flavor to the experience.
A NEW YEAR’S GIFT — A TICKET TO BELONGING
Of course, we can’t overlook the ritualistic foundation of New Year gift-giving. In many ancient cultures, ceremonial exchanges played a vital role in maintaining social ties. Acquaintances, such as coworkers, often exchange symbolic gifts.
Within families, gifts are typically practical items that would have been purchased anyway. In this case, the act of giving matters more than the gift itself. This ritual display of generosity is a marker of belonging. Giving and receiving gifts draw an invisible line between «us» and «them».
For example, the exchange of gifts between a daughter-in-law and mother-in-law traditionally served as a kind of initiation rite — a symbolic membership card proving acceptance into the family.
There’s also an unexpected benefit. Italian researchers found that gift-giving improves cognitive functions — memory, attention, learning abilities, and decision-making skills.
THE BRAIN AND THE «CHRISTMAS SPIRIT»
When psychologists showed participants photos with holiday themes, they observed that the brain responded in a unique way to festive imagery — decorated streets, Christmas dinners, Santa Claus, Christmas trees, and more.
Increased neural activity was detected in five brain regions responsible for feelings of connection and self-awareness. These areas also triggered pleasant memories of past New Year celebrations.
So, the famous «Christmas spirit» that has inspired so many heartwarming films truly exists. It has a tangible neural basis, comes alive within us as the holiday approaches, and genuinely has the power to make our lives better.
