New Year’s Resolutions: a traditional promise to the new year. But how did such a classic thing originate?

The idea of a “New Year” has been around almost as long as humanity itself. The earliest known records of celebrating the transition come from ancient Mesopotamia and date back over 4,000 years, based on the new moon after the vernal equinox. Other cultural calendars placed the turn of the New Year anywhere from the autumnal equinox to the winter solstice, and January 1st by the modern day Gregorian calendar, but the idea stayed consistent; a changeover into the future, and a fresh start to time.

The resolution aspect of New Years is believed to have originated around the same time as the marking of the calendar, and those resolutions were likely a form of prayer or looking for favor from gods for the coming year, and throughout the centuries developed into more of a personal devotion. The first usage of the phrase ‘New Years Resolutions’ is thought to come from an unknown writer in the Boston Newspaper back in 1813 when describing the dedication to new behaviors people had, but the idea of a promise to do better can be found in writing as far back as 2000 B.C. when someone pledged to finally return a neighbor’s borrowed farm equipment.

While the idea of New Year’s has been around for thousands of years, the celebration of the holiday is a relatively recent development for America. Originally, January 1st didn’t actually mean much to Americans, as under the Julian calendar that the country first used, the year started on March 25th. January 1st was only the start of the fiscal year, where contracts ended or were renewed, but there wasn’t much of a ‘holiday’ around either date. Over time, the perspective on New Years began to shift towards socializing and leisure and socializing. 

So how was your New Year’s?