Did New Year's Eve Inspire Majora's Mask?

[the walrus cat]

In the midst of New Years celebrations, and replaying Majora's Mask simultaneously, I couldn't help but notice how similar the Carnival of Time festival is to New Years celebrations. Practices such as shooting fireworks, drinking Chatteau Romani, and opening the tower door at 12 am mirror western new years traditions, like the ball dropping and heavy drinking.

Furthermore, something I find very interesting is that MM was developed in the year leading up to Y2K. Some expected a complete apocalypse on the first day of 2000. I can't help but theorize that the "hype" leading up to New Years Eve in 2000 was a significant influence on the climax of Majora's Mask. Regardless, it's interesting to look back at the times when classics such as MM were developed, and theorize how this effected the world that Nintendo developed.

Let me know what you think, and if you have any similar theories.

 

[DekuNut]

I feel like you bring up an excellent point with the whole new years thing. And it is also a festival celebrating time - not something I've thought of before, but I approve.
I dont see a reason for it to be based on Y2K, however. People were freaking out about Y2K, while the Clock Townians (Towners? Townies?) Were flat-out ignoring the whole thing, and the other races had other things to worry about. That is a good reading of the time though, even if I don't believe it

 

[VitaTempusN92]

I've actually been kind of thinking the same kind of thing recently.

 

[DeactivatedUser2]

There are actually quite a few parallels that can be drawn, now that you mention it - Dawn of a New Day, like the beginning of a new year, and, it's kind of pushing the boundaries, but resetting time in Majora's Mask could be compared to resetting the year back to January 1st maybe? Either way, you might be on to something.

 

[Spanoodle]

I like that idea of it being based on New Year's, it is definitely a time for celebration. They're bringing in the new (in both situations). And in some aspects I can see how it is based off of Y2K, some thought it was going to be the end of the world, the end of how things are, it's definitely a nice parallel to draw.