Another Year, Another New Year’s Resolution

Let’s go back to where it all began. Over 4,000 years ago, the ancient Babylonians were the first people to hold recorded New Year's celebrations which included making New Year's resolutions. However, their new year began in mid-March, not January 1st. This is because crops were planted in the spring. 

These New Year's celebrations included a massive 12-day religious festival known as Akitu where the Babylonians would crown a new king or reaffirm their loyalty to the reigning king. Their New Year’s resolutions included making promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed. 

January 1st became the new year around 46 B.C. when Julius Caesar decided it should be the new year. The exact quote from History.com is “the reform-minded emperor Julius Caesar tinkered with the calendar and established January 1 as the beginning of the new year.” He tinkered! 

This month is named after Janus, the two-faced god whose spirit inhabited doorways and arches and represented transitions. Romans believed that Janus symbolically looked back into the previous year and ahead into the future. This inspired them to offer sacrifices to Janus and they began to make promises of good behavior for the upcoming year. 

In early Christianity, the New Year was a time for people to think about their past mistakes and promise to do better in the future. In 1740, the English clergyman John Wesley, founder of Methodism, created the Covenant Renewal Service, which was most commonly held on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day.

A historian and professor of theology at the University of Birmingham named Candida Moss told CBS News that the first forms of resolutions were primarily about making the gods happy. Moss said, “That’s really what New Year’s is about; it’s a kind of supernatural spring cleaning.” 

Why We Make & Break Them 

According to a Pew Research survey conducted this year, three in 10 Americans report making at least one resolution, and half of this group makes more than one. 49% of adults ages 18 to 29 made at least one resolution this year. About 31% of those ages 30 to 49 made at least one resolution while only 21% of adults 50 and up have made one.

Overall, 79% say their resolutions concern health. Others made resolutions about money or finances, personal relationships, hobbies or interests, or work. 

87% of people who made resolutions kept at least some less than a month into the new year. But that means 13% of people didn’t keep their resolutions after only a few weeks. 

Of the 70% of Americans who do not make any New Year’s resolutions, 12% said they don’t make resolutions because they break them too easily. 

Let’s go through some tips and tricks that will make keeping resolutions a little bit easier. Resolutions must be realistic to incorporate healthy behavior into your life. 

So, you have to start small. Psychologist Lynn Budka, PhD, told the American Psychological Association that “setting small, attainable goals throughout the year, instead of a singular, overwhelming goal on January 1st can help you reach whatever it is you strive for. Remember, it is not the extent of the change that matters, but rather the act of recognizing that lifestyle change is important and working toward it, one step at a time.” 

You should also track your progress or whatever you are doing. For example, I like to write down my workout each day. I don’t create a workout schedule in advance but rather write down the workout after I complete it to visualize how much I have worked out in the past few months. 

Even if you are only completing 20-minute walks, seeing that you went on 20 20-minute walks in the past month feels good! 

Finally, don’t be afraid to ask for support. We all hate when someone complains about their diet and says they are “being bad” when they order fries, so maybe don’t be that person, but don’t be afraid to tell people about your goals. Having a good support system will help you succeed in whatever you are trying to achieve. 

If you don’t want to burden your friends with this information, reach out to a professional. Meeting with a therapist could be a resolution, simply introducing yourself to a professional could be a check off the list! 

Some Superstitions 

Let’s go through some of the superstitious traditions that are said to bring good luck to those who do them: 

• If you look out your bedroom window as soon as you wake on New Year’s Day and you see a man walk by, you could expect a ring before the end of the year. 

• In Brazil, it's tradition to dress in all white and jump over seven waves after midnight. This tradition comes from the Afro-Brazilian religion Umbanda, and it is said that Iemanjá, Goddess of the Sea, will make those wishes come true.

• It's an Irish superstition to hit bread on your doors and walls to fend off evil spirits and bad luck. 

• Greek tradition says that the pomegranate is a symbol of abundance, fertility, luck, and prosperity. If you would like any of these you have to throw down a pomegranate at your home’s entryway. 

• Apparently, in Scotland, it’s extremely important that the first person to walk through your door has good vibes. This person is called the First Footer. 

• In Puerto Rico, people dash a bit of sugar outside of their homes to bring good luck.

• In Ecuador, some people burn scarecrows to burn any lingering bad vibes from the previous year.

• In the Philippines, some believe that wearing polka dots will bring wealth, abundance, and success in the new year because they look like coins. 

• Polish tradition suggests that waking up early on New Year’s Day means you’ll easily wake up early for the rest of the year.

• In Colombia, some walk around with an empty suitcase on New Year’s Eve to guarantee travel throughout the next 12 months.

• According to Chinese lore, tidying on New Year’s Day is thought to clean away the good luck you’ve stored up for the new year. You’re not supposed to sweep the house or even do your laundry because you are cleaning the good luck that you want to keep. 

• In Italy, people toss their belongings—including furniture—out the window as soon as the clock strikes midnight because it’s thought to help make room for only positive vibes in the new year.

• In the Philippines, some open all the doors and windows in their homes at midnight to clear out the bad vibes and allow good luck to come in.

• For southern Americans, black-eyed peas and collard greens are on the menu because they are supposed to bring good luck and prosperity. 

• It’s also said that people who eat 12 grapes at midnight will have good luck for every month of the new year. 

• Firecrackers and noisemakers are part of New Year’s Eve celebrations around the world because folklore says the loud sounds will ward off evil spirits. 

• Of course, we all know about kissing at midnight. Superstition says that if you kiss someone at 12, your love will last all year long.

Conclusion 

People all over the world complete New Year's traditions and make New Year's resolutions. Whether or not these traditions or resolutions are kept is a different story. But, I truly believe the spiritual cleansing aspect of the new year is a great lesson to learn. 

If you are in America or any country in the northern hemisphere, you are in the midst of winter. Dark, depressing, cold, sluggish winter and the idea of starting a new lifestyle or making any effort to make any change seems very daunting when you are just trying to make it through the dark and depressing winter days. 

However, we must think positively and see resolutions as tiny little lifestyle changes that help drag you out of your winter slump.