Most of us have set New Year’s resolutions centered around health, education, fitness, and our loved ones. Sadly, most of us break our promises within the first three months, but how did our forefathers fare? Did they even make New Year’s resolutions, or is this a modern concept?
From Ancient Babylonians who pledged to pay their debts to the king to the Romans who made promises and sacrifices for the coming year, these resolutions are nothing new.
New year’s resolutions in Babylonia
The concept of New Year’s Resolutions goes as far back as 4,000 years ago. This tradition may not have a single starting point, but Ancient Babylonians were the first recorded people to celebrate the beginning of a new calendar.
In Mesopotamia, life revolved around agriculture, so their New Year’s celebration happened during the planting season between March and April. They had a 12-day festival called Akitu, where people made promises to their gods and loyalty pledges to their king.
Babylonians believed the gods would favor them if they kept their promises. This was also the time to return borrowed farm equipment and supplies. Like us, they wanted to reset and start a new year with good intentions.
The starting point of our modern New Year’s Day
Today, we celebrate our New Year’s Day on January 1st, thanks to the reforms of Julius Caesar around 46 BC. Before that, it was difficult for the average Roman to know which day of the year it was, and the further a person was from the city, the harder it was to know the date. So. Julius introduced what we know today as the Julian calendar to make the dates uniform across the republic.
The Romans made promises and sacrifices to the god Janus, from whom we get the name January. They believed Janus could see their past and future, and New Year’s Day was the time to appease the god and swear your loyalty to the emperor.
New Year’s vows during medieval period
Even though Julius introduced January 1st as the beginning of a new year, it wasn’t widely adopted. Most people continued to celebrate and make New Year’s resolutions around March.
With the advent and spread of Christianity, New Year’s celebrations were observed on days of religious significance, like Christmas and Easter, and especially during The Feast of the Annunciation (March 25th).
In the Middle Ages, knights would make their New Year vows by placing their hands on a roasted or live peacock. This resolution to uphold the values of their knighthood came to be called the “Peacock Vow.”
However, Britain and its colonies (including the Americas) didn’t adopt the Gregorian Calendar until 1752. Before this, people in Britain made their New Year’s Resolutions on March 25th, and one of the first people to put their resolutions in writing was the Scottish writer Anne Halkett in 1617. Her “resolutions” were centered around her Christian faith, and in one of her memoirs, she writes, “I will not offend anymore.”
New Year’s celebrations between the Middle Ages and the 20th Century
For the 18th and 19th century Christians, New Year’s Day became the day to reflect on your past mistakes and think about the future. The celebrations gained popularity, and New Year’s Eve included reading scriptures and singing hymns. This practice is still widespread among church-going people all over the world.
Modern New Year’s celebrations
In 1907, the now famous New Year’s Eve Ball dropped for the first time in New York’s Times Square, ushering in 1908. This is one of the events that marked the change from religious New Year’s celebrations to more secular or individual celebrations.
Today, most people usher in the new year with raucous celebrations and personal New Year’s resolutions. Ancient Babylonians probably didn’t vow to lose weight, start a new hobby, or travel more in the coming year. And for much of our history, New Year’s vows have been more communal and religious.
This doesn’t mean setting individual goals for the upcoming year is bad. It means that humans have advanced to a point where they can focus on personal growth. But as you keep up with your New Year’s resolutions, add something you’ll do for your loved ones, friends, or even a stranger.
