Every new year, everyone is asked the same question at least once. “What’s your New Year’s resolution?” It’s a very common question for people to hear in early January, but what is the history behind it? Why is it a tradition to set a goal for the year every January 1?
The first people to have New Year’s resolutions were the Ancient Babylonians. They are also the first to have recorded celebrations of the new year. However, for the Babylonians, the new year began in March when the crops were planted. The new year wouldn’t be decided as being in January until much later, under Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire. The Babylonians had a 12-day religious festival known as Akitu, where they would crown a new king or reaffirm their loyalty to the reigning king. With the beginning of the new year, they would also make promises to God to pay their debts and return anything they had borrowed. This is widely accepted as the early stages of New Year’s resolutions. The Babylonians believed that if they made and kept their promises, then the gods would give them a good year of harvest. They believed that by keeping the promises that they made, they would earn the gods’ favor. However, if they failed to keep the promises, then they would lose the gods’ favor completely.
Another early civilization that also participated in New Year’s resolutions was the ancient Romans. Julius Caesar adjusted the calendar to make January 1 the new year because, to the Romans, January was one of the most important months. It was named after the Roman god Janus, who was a two-faced god whose spirit possessed doorways and arches and symbolically looked into the previous year and the future. The Romans offered sacrifices to Janus and promised good conduct for the upcoming year.
For the early Christians, the first day of the new year was a tradition of reflecting on past mistakes and resolving to do better in the future. In 1740, English clergyman John Wesley made the covenant renewal service commonly held on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The service usually consisted of readings from scriptures and hymn singing. It is now popular with Evangelical Protestant churches, especially those in African American denominations and congregations.
Today, despite its religious beginnings, New Year’s Eve has become a secular holiday. Instead of making promises to gods, people make personal resolutions and promises to themselves, most of which focus on self-improvement. Common themes in the resolutions made include physical and mental health goals, weight loss, and eating habits. 41-year-old Jammie Smith says her New Year’s resolutions are to go with the flow and just live one day at a time. However, as many of these resolutions are not thoroughly planned and slightly vague, they usually end before they can even start. Weak motivation, impatience, and a bad mentality are also common factors that can cause a New Year’s resolution to end quickly.
New Year’s resolutions are always a fun way to challenge yourself in the new year to become a better version of yourself. It’s always important to try your best to fulfill your resolutions.
Sources:
https://www.history.com/articles/the-history-of-new-years-resolutions
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7725288/#:~:text=No%20significant%20differences%20in%20effectiveness,reward%20achieved%20greater%20success%20rates
