AIBU to ask why people hate NYE so much?

[Kat256M]

Maybe not hate as such but people are just done with the festive spirit after the 26th. I am not British so it seems weird to me, we always used to celebrate NYE more than Christmas, the big family gathering is usually on January 1st.

Is it just that everyone is over it by then? Or because there seems to be more pressure on Christmas dinner? Just curious really.

Exactly this

I was also at that Hogmanay- the crush on one of the corners of Princes Street was terrifying. Ticketing worked well in the immediate aftermath when it was free/nominal price, but now it’s just a money grabbing excuse for the council. Still love seeing the castle fireworks on tv though.

For some reason I thought Jackie Bird had retired from the Hogmanay show now! At least Only An Excuse has retired.

We’ll have friends round for party food and fizz/cocktails. I’ve also got steak pie for the traditional 1 January meal and we’ll go round to first foot at my parents.

I love Christmas and still have the tree and twinkly lights up. But I detest NYE. It reminds me that I have lost most of my family, I wonder what terrible thing will happen next. I feel lucky I have nearly made it through 2023 unscathed but there's the dread and doom of what next year will bring.

January has no redeeming features either as far as I can see. Back to work, grey dreary weather. Constant reminders everywhere that I need to lose weight and cut out alcohol. The world can piss off until about March.

I don't really do it. We considered going out for a meal tomorrow and then realised we could go to the same place with pretty much the same menu options for half price last night so did that as our celebration instead. Tomorrow can be pizza wine and cheese at home. And I've never really thought about a special meal for nyd - we usually do something active during the day to get out, the just eat whatever's in when we get home!

I don't drink and struggle to stay awake after 10pm. I would never normally be up at midnight so it feels like such a long evening.

I'll be honest and say that I find the passing of another year , so soon these days, a little depressing. My husband feels the same though we are getting on a bit.

I really don't like fireworks and our dog feels similarly.
I don't know why fireworks should be involved.

People should be able to celebrate however they want but I find it depressing. I start to feel better when my garden springs to life and so pruning and seed sowing bring me joy; that's when I look forward to the new year.

For me it's due to the difficulty of getting a taxi or transport home. It's been really hard since COVID.

So last year and this year my friends and I have had a night out on 30th instead! Then a quieter one on 31st. We're late 20s to mid 30s fwiw

Forced fun that’s why. It’s passable when you are younger and you go out (and when everything wasn’t bloody ticketed).
But past a certain age it gets a bit crap. I’ve been to a few parties that have ‘peaked’ well before midnight and people have gone home drunk/bored.
It’s impossible to get a taxi so you need to stay somewhere or go home early or drive.

DH is Scottish and grew up with massive extended family parties, but his gran hosted and once she got older they stopped. His brother moved out of town and complains people won’t come to his, but they can’t get home.
In 30 years we’ve only been there twice for Hogmanay. Once with his parents, who were bad tempered. Their neighbours have moved away and houses were empty at NY because students live there. We had to buy tickets for their local and they didn’t know anyone. Another year we went to a party, which wasn’t any good, the host got drunk, passed out, lots of people left and we spent 90 minutes walking home in the snow, screw that.

DH feels huge pressure to ‘enjoy’ it. We’re going for a meal and then watching a movie.

Same. Loved it when I was late teens and early 20s then lost interest - I hate being surrounded by boozed up people

Ah I like it but I understand why others don't. DH doesn't really like to celebrate on the years he's back at work on 2nd because he doesn't want to have a hangover on his last day off. I'm often off the first week in Jan so it's bang in the middle of my time off.
We do have friends round (just a couple of couples) with their kids. Kids have the run of the living room, adults in the dining room. We cook something simple and round like pizzas or burgers for everyone, pop Champaign at midnight then people tend to go home around 12.30am. We always do first footing, toss a coin in the river, sometimes sparklers for the kids, but that's it.

Oh and always have a toast to lost loved ones.

It just feels like forced fun to me. Everyone says to me "oh you're Scottish! You must LOVE Hogmanay!" Well I did, when I was 17-23. Not so much now I'm mid forties and have to go back to work on 2nd Jan 😆

She's retired?? I've missed the last few at home as we've usually been down south, so watched the London show with the rellies.

I think tbh, the only folk now at Edinburgh hogmanay are tourists. That's certainly what friends who still live in town say. That last one I did was truly terrifying. The ones before were fun, but now...shudder.

I hate it because I have young children, I'm permanently exhausted and being woken up by drunken people "whoop"ing and shouting gives me the fecking rage.

It's just another day. You don't need to wake everyone up to let them know about it.

The actual daytime part, I don't mind. I just hate the midnight drunken noisiness.

This 💯

Because it’s loud and dark and crowded in the cold outside. Drunk people, looking at fireworks and feeling sad about what you didn’t achieve that year. All a bit anticlimactic.

And yes you’re all tired from Christmas.

I like having it at home with snacks and movies. More cosy, less stress.

It’s often very cold and raining. The year is done. Kind of depressing.

I am so sorry

Meanwhile, this is rather along the lines of childhood hogmanay in our street...

Now THOSE were parties. We'd sleep on the coats piled up at the bottom of the stairs so we could see the bells in.

I don't hate it but ever since I started working it has that looming dread about having to go back to work on 2nd January after two weeks of forgetting what a bedtime is. It's like the Sunday night before school amplified by 100. For me it's usually low key and at home with a couple of family members. Can't be bothered to go out. But waving goodbye to one year and looking on a new one with some optimism is nice, I wasn't always an optimistic person.

In my experience, Christmas people tend to not be big NY fans and vice versa.

NY just seems like an excuse to get dressed up and go on the piss, to me. The thought of both makes me shudder!

We'll have a few picky bits for dinner, stick a film on, have a few gins and make sure the cat's in before the fireworks start. Nothing exciting but it'll be pleasant enough.

And then it'll just be the start of another trip round the sun. Hope it brings you all good health and the luxury of being happy more often than not.x.

I have small kids, so I loathe the fireworks and loud house parties. Even before that though, I just hate being out late at night. Always have. My favourite ever NYE my husband and I went for a nice dinner at regular dinner time, went home, cracked open a bottle of champagne left over from our wedding, and played the lego the hobbit video game until daft o'clock in the morning. We did pause to watch the countdown and fireworks on TV.
The socially accepted way to celebrate new years has just never worked for me.

It's just a huge pain in the arse that I can really no longer be bothered with so soon after Christmas. I'm not a party animal at the best of times anyway.

We just stay in, watching something on iPlayer or Netflix as I really can't stand Jools Holland. If we're still awake we will have a glass of wine at midnight and then watch the fireworks on TV. Then bed.

January is still a long and dark month with usually crap weather.. The only redeeming feature is that I know we are past shortest day (22nd December usually) and so the evenings are slowly getting lighter by just a minute or two every night. That only really becomes noticeable by the end of the month though, and into February.

What's to like?

It's three years this NYE when DH nearly died from a ruptured bowel. Life changing surgery - we will never be the same.
So it brings back horrific memories

I don't have my children with me so I hate it. I don't want to celebrate welcoming in another new year without them.

I am Scottish, Hogmanay is a big celebration here

I'm Scottish too & almost noone I know celebrates Hogmanay now. Anyone that does seems to do it because they feel they should rather than they want to.