An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves. – Bill Vaughan (1915–1977), in The Kansas City Star

The rose of the old year withers away as the new bud begins to bloom. – Terri Guillemets, “Withered,” 2004

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right. – Oprah Winfrey (b.1954)

The old year cracks under the burdensome weight of twelve heavy months, and the next year emerges fresh and anew from its shell. – Terri Guillemets, “A cracked bell still tolls,” 2010