A New Year Toasting Song & Its Meaning

(NOTE: Refreshed English is used throughout this site.
See Glossary for more on RE.)

OFFICIAL COMMUNIQUÉ FROM THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE
FREESTANDING EVOLUTIONIST HAVEN OF JUSTICEA

Greetings from Justicea!

And all the best in 2021!  In a 116-to-19 vote taken on Friday, January 15, 2021, the Congress of the Freestanding Evolutionist Haven of Justicea decided that it was time our island nation end its regional isolationism and share information about our country and its culture with the wider global community.  As I am the new Minister of Culture, recently appointed by Madame the President of FEH Justicea, Justice Foral, and approved by the Congress, it is my great privilege to have the task of writing this very first blog post.  And beings that it is still January, at least for a few more days, I will take the opportunity to start out this new venture by sharing with you the toasting song below, which is sung in Justicea to express well wishes for the New Year.

CHEERS TO US ALL1 (A New Year’s Toasting Song Sung to the Tune of “Joy to the World”)                                Cheers to us all, the New Year’s come! Well Wishes pass around! May New Friends be found! And Your Health be sound! And May Wisdom abound! And May Wisdom abound! May Friendship, Good Health, and Wisdom abound! May Friendship, Good Health, and Wisdom abound!

Justicean Character: Some Background

While “Auld Lang Syne,” with its theme of remembering those loved and lost, is also sung, we Justiceans are a people who value balance as much as justice. Therefore, a slow and somber tribute to the past should be followed by a joyous hope for the future. And since is it in the Justicean character to take action when change is called for, a new custom has recently emerged, with everyone chiming the first verse of “Cheers to Us All” immediately after the traditional staple. This upbeat expression of well wishes sends revelers merrily on their way to face whatever the future brings with confidence.

At first glance, “Cheers to Us All” seems simple enough, but its simplicity is deceptive. For not only does its invention affirm our love of balance and proclivity towards action, but each of the three wishes holds a deep significance rooted in Justicean history and culture—in this case, in regards to our concept of “gex.”

While gex, itself, is a topic for another blog post, suffice it to note here that the Justicean conception of gex merges into one the concepts of gender and sex, which remain separate and distinct in most Western Cultures (to their detriment, as we Justiceans believe!).

The Three Categories of Gex: An Overview

Although several gexes are officially recognize on the island, their configurations are grouped into three basic categories—and I use the Justicean names and spellings here: The first is the Wenn (or femele, both cisgender and transgender); the second is the Man (or male, cisgender and transgender); and the third is the Ren (a category encompassing both intersex persons who do not identify with either of the other two groups, as well as gender-variant persons, including those who in Western society might identify as gender-gifted, genderfluid, genderqueer, or agender). I should also mention that, in Justicea, all gexes enjoy equal rights and are entitled to equal protection and respect under the law.

So what do the wishes in the lyrics of “Cheers to Us All” tell us about the way Justiceans traditionally have viewed the three gexual groupings?  Well, each group is credited with bringing a particular gift to the table for the benefit of Society. Below is a look at how each wish corresponds to the gift brought by wens, men, or rens.  

The Gift of Wenns: Diplomacy Leading to Bounty

“May New Friends be found!” is the first wish and refers to the wenn’s gift to Society: Diplomacy. In Justicea, the femele traditionally has been seen as the cultured sex. In fact, the Refreshed English word “wenn” comes from Mandarian Chinese “wen,” which alternately means “civility” or “culture,” and finds its origin in ancient Chinese philosophy dating back to the 3^rd or 2^nd century BCE.² We Justiceans equate civility with the qualities of logic and level-headedness so needed to succeed in diplomatic pursuits. To us, the worst thing for any ship of state is to have a hot-head at its helm.  (I’m sure many readers around the world would agree with that sentiment in light of recent history!)

As those who exhibit the qualities associated with diplomacy are regarded as having the greatest ability to make and keep allies, it is accounted good luck if a wenn is the first person to enter your house in the New Year because it portends an increase in the number of friends and allies who will come into the circle of your household members in the year ahead, as well as the bounty of good will that will result from these new relationships.

The Gift of Men: Protection Leading to Wellness

“May Your Health be sound!” is the second wish mentioned and refers to the gift that men bring to Society: Protection. As in so many countries throughout the centuries, Justicean men were once called upon, on a more or less regular basis, to defend hearth and homeland against the twin threats of domestic intruders and foreign invaders. Piracy posed a particularly pernicious threat to Justicean tranquility during the 17^th and 18^th centuries, as it did to the peace of mind of inhabitants of many an island nation.³

Although Justicea is not so likely to be menaced by invaders today, the historical role men played in protecting our country is remembered in the New Year’s toasting song. Therefore, it is viewed as good luck if a man is the first person to enter your home in the New Year, as it portends that your household members will be free from bodily harm in the year ahead. And as warding off illness is as important as warding off injury, the gift that men bring to Society is extended to include the idea of “good health” or “wellness” in general.

The Gift of Rens: Wisdom Leading to Flexibility

This brings us to the third wish, “And may Wisdom abound!”  Wisdom is the gift that rens traditionally have been viewed as bringing to Justicean Society. Because the gender identities of rens are not so firmly tethered to their physical form as are those of their binary counterparts, Justiceans believe that rens’ experiences of gender range freely to, between, and beyond the usual bounds of feminine and masculine.

The insight gained through this lived experience is thought to lead rens to a greater understanding, empathy, and acceptance of all people, which are the hallmarks of wisdom. Therefore, it is accounted good luck if a ren is the first visitor to cross your threshold in the New Year because it portends that your household members will be wiser, more insightful, and more flexible people in the year ahead.

Symbolic Merits

That is quite a bit of Justicean culture packed into a single song verse!—and I must stress here that the association of a particular gift with a particular gex, as appears in this song, is traditional and symbolic.  It is not meant to suggest that the named trait is the only one a gex brings to the table or that all members of a gex possess that trait. Nor does it suggest that members of other gexes cannot or do not possess that characteristic.  Indeed, the history books of our island nation celebrate a host of warrior wenns who have protected our homeland valiantly, as well as an array of diplomatic men who have represented our interests well abroad.  Conversely, you will also read in those same tomes of the censure of some undiplomatic wenns and craven men, as well as the condemnation of a few rens who were more goober than guru!

The Take Away: Honor & Action, Justicean Values

The take away I hope readers glean from this post is that Justicea recognizes, acknowledges, and celebrates the dignity, worth, positive attributes and contributions of all its citizens. And while some other cultures that acknowledge only the two polar sexes of femele and male have a New Year’s custom that accounts it good luck if a member of one sex crosses the threshold of a home first and bad luck if a member of the other sex does, the Justiceans will have nothing to do with such nonsense!

It is a Justicean value to honor all people equally as equals. And when we perceive that action needs to be taken on an issue, we assure that the honor of all is considered and protected in implementing change.

I am proud to share with you the lyric to “Cheers to Us All” that so effortlessly expresses this deeply-held sentiment. Further, I invite you to sing it in the month of January or during any other month in which the New Year is celebrated in your culture.

“Value all people equally as equals” is a Justicean value that I wish all the countries on Earth would adopt and share in 2021!

Peace & Siblinghood,

Justion Fairfield,
Minister of Cultural Affairs, FEH Justicea

CITATIONS:

1. © Justy DeForest 2018 (Lyrics only)
2. “Wen and Wu.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wen_and_wu.
3. “Golden Age of Piracy.” Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Age_of_Piracy.