The transition from one year to the next is an arbitrary construction. We could easily begin each year in June, September or any other month, as many companies do with their fiscal years. However, in our society, tradition dictates that we wrap up one 12-month cycle in December and begin anew in January.
Many decry the hoopla now associated with the year-end holiday season. People complain that the religious and other cultural celebrations marked during December have become commercialized and thereby lost their value. Many also feel that too many of us see New Year's Eve as an excuse to party, and New Year's Day, merely a time to recover, which is far from a fresh start.
Because this period can make or break so many of our merchant customers, we, in the payments sphere, can get wrapped up in the sales numbers. We, too, can lose sight of the intrinsic and deep value this time can hold. It is easy to become so preoccupied that we lose sight of what the holiday season and ensuing new year mean to us, to our families and friends, as well as what it meant to our ancestors who walked the earth many thousands of years ago. Beliefs have changed, surely, but a sense of wonder remains.
There is power in this tradition of marking special times together; power in pausing amid the gift-giving, party-going and confetti throwing; power in seeking something true within ourselves that is connected not only to our loved ones, but also to folks across the world we'll never meet.
We, at The Green Sheet, have striven to provide the most useful information and advice to help you thrive professionally this year. We intend to do so next year, and the next, and the next. This is our mission, and we're proud of it. But we also know that inside each of us, a heart beats with love, longing, joy and the full range of other human emotions we all share. And from our hearts to yours, we want for you the very best life has to offer in the coming year. 
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