By Stephen Asante
Accra, Jan. 01, GNA – A new year has begun. For many people, year 2026 presents yet another opportunity to begin life on a fresh note, a journey that is anticipated to come forth with all the good tidings and a better life.
Many are those who left 2025 with lingering memories and sober reflections – taking an account of what they had done and transpired in their lives.
The hope for a happy 2026 was demonstrated on a grand scale by President John Mahama.
Such displays of belief and optimism are crucial as it helps in building a positive national psyche, a people energize to execute the task before them.
President Mahama, accompanied by his wife and other family members, joined the citizenry in welcoming the New Year in a prayerful mood, participating in a 31st December Watch Night Service at the Assemblies of God, Ringway Gospel Centre, Accra.
The President promises to revive the nation’s economy under the Resetting Ghana Agenda, creating more job opportunities, and ensuring massive infrastructural development to enhance the living conditions of the people.
Ghana goes into the New Year as the Fitch Solutions forecasts the country’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth to rise from 5.8 per cent in 2025 to 5.9 per cent in 2026.
This growth is attributed to robust private consumption and a rebound in fixed investment following a contraction in 2023.
Across many churches in Ghana’s capital, Accra, the trending New Year messages from the pulpits were that of peace, tolerance, good neighbourliness, hard work, and discipline, as the congregation prayed fervently for the nation’s growth.
For some Ghanaians, the pain of losing loved ones, job disappointments, injuries sustained through accidents, ailments, and the adversities of life stretched them to the very limit of their endurance and resilience levels over the year.
Sharing their experiences and aspirations in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the eve of the New Year, the citizenry hoped for a brighter future, praying that everything goes on well in their lives.
“In spite of the challenges confronting us, we need to always develop a positive mindset – proving that, truly, our society is not getting worse, it is getting better.” Torgbiga Mawufeame Fugah, President of the Council of Ewe Chiefs in the Ashanti, Ahafo and Bono Regions, noted.
Whilst extending the Council’s warmest New Year greetings to Ghanaians, the traditional ruler said it was imperative that the people remained focused and visionary to build a more prosperous society.
In the 2026 Budget Statement, the Ghanaian Government, under the theme, “Resetting for Growth, Jobs, and Economic Transformation”, aims to consolidate macroeconomic stability while promoting job creation and economic transformation.
The authorities’ focus is on strengthening security and social sectors, enhancing infrastructure, and implementing structural reforms to support inclusive growth.
Inflation is expected to remain stable, with projections indicating a decline from 4.2 per cent in 2025 to 3.7 per cent in 2026. This stability is crucial for maintaining consumer confidence and economic growth.
Ernest Quaicoo, a 54-year-old social development analyst, in an interview, observed that there was a profound philosophical shift underway worldwide – a move from fear-based systems to ‘Happytalism’, the idea that the happiness and freedom of all beings is the foremost goal of development.
The United Nations (UN), he said, now published an annual World Happiness Report that influenced governments to prioritise mental health, social support, and environmental quality.
“Concepts like Gross National Happiness (GNH), first pioneered in Bhutan, have inspired the creation of wellbeing indices in countries as diverse as New Zealand, Scotland, the UAE and Ecuador – translating the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into focusing on building what we do want (joy, peace, health) rather than just fighting what we don’t want,” he emphasised.
Even though it is one of the oldest holidays to be celebrated globally, the New Years’ Day customs and activities have undergone several changes over the past few centuries.
The relationship between people and religion has also undergone massive change in the 20th century, and what used to be mostly religious celebrations have mostly been turned into global traditions, varying with culture and society.
Historically, it was Mesopotamia that initiated the celebration of each New Year in 2000 BC. New Year was celebrated around the time of the vernal equinox (which takes place in mid-March), and, according to the early Roman calendar, March 01 was the first day of each new year.
Eventually, the month January was marked as the beginning month of the new year.
The Church, aware of the lagging practice of celebrating New Years’ Day in January, decided to step in. In the 1570s, Pope Gregory XIII commissioned Jesuit astronomer, Christopher Clavius, to come up with a new calendar.
This calendar, known as the Gregorian Calendar, was implemented a year later. It implemented a new rule, that only one of every four years would be a leap year.
Most Western European nations officially adopted January 01 as the first day of the year even before they adopted the Gregorian Calendar. In pre-Christian times, during the reign of the Romans, this day was dedicated to Janus, the god of Gateways and Beginnings.
For many Ghanaians, the New Year is marked in happiness and hope. It is the time for renewals, for taking a fresh start and for feeling hope for the coming future.
From the churches, drinking spots, beaches and other places of social gatherings that the GNA has visited, the people are basking in joy knowing there is light at the end of the tunnel as they usher in the New Year.
GNA
01 Jan. 2026
Edited by Samuel Osei-Frempong