The bulk update request #3003 is pending approval.

create alias new_years_day (16) -> new_year (3362)
create alias new_years_eve (48) -> new_year (3362)
create implication new_year_2022 (302) -> new_year (3362)
create implication new_year_2021 (34) -> new_year (3362)
create implication new_year_2020 (25) -> new_year (3362)
create implication new_year_2019 (18) -> new_year (3362)
create implication new_year_2018 (16) -> new_year (3362)
create implication new_year_2017 (8) -> new_year (3362)
create implication new_year_2016 (2) -> new_year (3362)
create implication new_year_2015 (5) -> new_year (3362)
create implication new_year_2014 (4) -> new_year (3362)

Reason: some cleanup with the new year’s tags (including some that don’t have any posts yet, but probably will in the future)

Would it be better to merge all the new_year_[year] into new year, or is there value in keeping them separate?

Personally, I would have thought tagging new_year plus the year would be sufficient, but I suppose tagging new_year_[year] could be argued to allow one to search specifically for New Year's posts that incorporate a specific year in the picture.

snpthecat said:
Would it be better to merge all the new_year_[year] into new year, or is there value in keeping them separate?

I'm not really sure if I'd want multiple tags for every possible new year, but searching new_year 2023 is going to produce a mixed bag of results for:
1) actual 2023 new year, at the start of the year
2) new year 2024, posted at the end of 2023 before the year changed
3) posts from any previous new year that were posted late, backlogged posts, etc.

The question to me is: does any of the above actually matter?

New years eve is the proper name for the holiday, the aliases should point to it.

the unpopularity of those tags has some warranty of being aliased. there is not much point having them because it has different date meanwhile typically against the same stereotypical firework background or party like throughout former years. that is like adding christmas 2007 because posts celebrate christmas with 2007 at the bottom of the christmas title.
uniquely themed around the year of the [animal] is more preferable over these.