It was New Year’s Day 1773. The faithful in the English town of Olney, though, were not thinking about old acquaintances being forgotten. (It would be another 15 years before Robert Burns would write his poem that would forever become synonymous with New Year’s Eve revelry.) They were thinking about grace and all its amazingness.
Happy New Year, everybody! Or, as we sing along with José Feliciano in “Feliz Navidad,” his 50-year holiday hit: “Próspero año y Felicidad” (A prosperous and happy new year).