The New Year’s resolution has had an interesting history. From what scholars are saying, it dates back to the time of the ancient Babalyonians almost 4,000 years ago. Instead of January being the beginning of their year, it was actually during March when they planted their crops.
They held a big celebration and made promises to their Gods. They promised to repay their debts and return borrowed goods. If they had kept their promises throughout the year, the Gods would favor them and if not, they would lose their favor and the Gods would have wrath upon them.
During this time they would also sustain their king or crown a new king. It became a big celebration of the rebirth of the world that lasted almost a week and a half.
Later, Julius Caesar declared that the new year would start on January 1st. He named January after the Roman God, Janus. The Romans believed that Janus looked to the past and the future. They would offer sacrifices to it to bring good favor to themselves.
The early Christians began a New Year’s resolution that is similar to the ones we have today. When they celebrated the new year, they would look over past mistakes and would promise to do better in the next year.
In 1740, the Methodist founder decided to create a service where the members could go to renew themselves. They would read their scriptures, sing some hymns, and created an environment where they could spiritually celebrate the new year. Some religions still practice this today during which they make their own New Year’s resolutions.
As we come into what we know as the New Year resolution today, we realize that most of what we know is mostly secular. We don’t make promises to different Gods to find favor but instead make promises to ourselves to work on self-improvement and try to be better every year.
While it is important to remember how far we have come, the New Year resolution helps us to look forward to what we can become in the future.
