The Promises of the New Year

From The New Yorker’s archive: stories about the turning of the temporal odometer and the ceremonies and resolutions that come with it. View in browser | Update your preferences The Promises of the New Year Out, damned 2020! Begone! This week, with the arrival of 2021, we offer up writing about the turning of the temporal odometer and the ceremonies and resolutions that come with it. In “The Arbus Factor,” by Lore Segal, two elderly friends meet at a French restaurant on the Upper West Side and discuss their plans for the New Year. In “ ‘Auld Lang Syne’ and Four Generations of My Family,” Allyson Hobbs explores the history of the holiday song, written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns, and its special meaning for her father. In “Why We Make Resolutions (and Why They Fail),” Maria Konnikova examines the psychology behind our annual New Year’s optimism. In “A Few Too Many,” Joan Acocella presents a helpful primer on hangover remedies. Finally, in “Breadline,” Ian Frazier writes about the workers serving New Yorkers on the first day of the New Year in the oldest continuously operated breadline in America. We hope that these pieces bring a sense of hope to your new year. —David Remnick From The New Yorker’s Archive Fiction The Arbus Factor “The onion soup came, the cassoulet came. Jack asked Hope if she would like to go back.” By Lore Segal | December 24, 2007 Culture Desk “Auld Lang Syne” and Four Generations of My Family The phrase translates to “times gone by,” and few Americans know what the Scottish lyrics actually mean. By Allyson Hobbs | December 28, 2015 Annals of Technology Why We Make Resolutions (and Why They Fail) It turns out that timing is important in determining whether or not we succeed. By Maria Konnikova | December 20, 2015 Annals of Drinking A Few Too Many Is there any hope for the hung over? By Joan Acocella | May 26, 2008 Dept. of Kindness Breadline Crushed plastic top hats, ribbons, tassels, and other festive detritus littered the streets as several dozen people lined up on the sidewalk in front of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi. By Ian Frazier | January 20, 2014 Newsletters Sign Up for The New Yorker’s Food Newsletter Get essays on food, restaurant reviews, and notes for the kitchen, all delivered to your in-box. This e-mail was sent to you by The New Yorker. To insure delivery, we recommend adding newyorker@newsletters.newyorker.com, to your contacts, while noting that it is a no-reply address. Please send all newsletter feedback to tnyinbox@newyorker.com. For more from The New Yorker, sign up for our newsletters, shop the store, and sign in to newyorker.com, where subscribers always have unlimited access. Contact us with questions. View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe Copyright © Condé Nast 2020. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.