It was New Year's Night. An aged man was standing at a window. He raised his sad eyes towards the deep blue sky, where the stars were floating like white lilies   on the surface of a clear calm lake. He had already passed sixty and brought from his journey nothing but errors and regrets. Now his health was poor, his mind empty, his heart sorrowful  . The days of his youth appeared like dreams before him, and he remembered the serious moment when his father placed him at the entrance of the two roads --- one leading to a peaceful, sunny place, covered with flowers, fruits and filled with soft, sweet songs; the other leading to a deep, dark cave, which was endless, where poison  flowed   instead of water and devils   and poisonous snakes hissed   and crawled. He saw the lights flowing away in the darkness. These were the days of his wasted life; he saw a star fall down from the sky and disappeared, and this was the symbol of himself. His regret like a sharp arrow struck deeply into his heart. Then he remembered his friends in his childhood. But they had made their way to success and were now honored and happy on this night.www.ks5u.com The clock in the high church tower struck and the sound made him remember his parents' early love for him. They had taught him and prayed to God for his good. But he chose the wrong way. With shame and sorrow he dared no longer look towards that heaven where his father lived. His darkened eyes were full of tears, and with a hopeless effort, he burst out a cry: "Come back, my early days! Come back!" His youth did return, for all this was only a dream which he had on New Year's Night. He was still young though his faults   were real; he had not yet entered the deep, dark cave, and he was still free to walk on the road which leads to the peaceful and sunny land. Those who still wander   on the entrance of life, hesitating  to choose the bright road, remember that when years are passed and your feet stumble   on the dark mountains, you will cry bitterly, but in vain  : "Oh youth, return! Oh give me back my early days!" Why does the author set his story on New Year's Night?
He wants to tell people it's time to recall the past. He suggests the aged man will have a bright future. He expects people to share the man's sad feeling. He tries to stress   the man's sad feeling.