The History of New Year’s Resolutions

The custom of making New Year’s resolutions has been around for thousands of years, but it hasn’t always looked the way it does today.

The ancient Babylonians are said to have been the first people to make New Year’s resolutions, some 4,000 years ago. They were also the first to hold recorded celebrations in honor of the new year—though for them the year began not in January but in mid-March, when the crops were planted. During a massive 12-day religious festival known as Akitu, the Babylonians crowned a new king or reaffirmed their loyalty to the reigning king. They also made promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed. These promises could be considered the forerunners of our New Year’s resolutions. If the Babylonians kept to their word, their (pagan) gods would bestow favor on them for the coming year. If not, they would fall out of the gods’ favor—a place no one wanted to be.

A similar practice occurred in ancient Rome, after the reform-minded emperor Julius Caesar tinkered with the calendar and established January 1 as the beginning of the new year circa 46 B.C. Named for Janus, the two-faced god whose spirit inhabited doorways and arches, January had special significance for the Romans. Believing that Janus symbolically looked backwards into the previous year and ahead into the future, the Romans offered sacrifices to the deity and made promises of good conduct for the coming year.

For early Christians, the first day of the new year became the traditional occasion for thinking about one’s past mistakes and resolving to do and be better in the future. In 1740, the English clergyman John Wesley, founder of Methodism, created the Covenant Renewal Service, most commonly held on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. Also known as known as watch night services, they included readings from Scriptures and hymn singing, and served as a spiritual alternative to the raucous celebrations normally held to celebrate the coming of the new year. Now popular within evangelical Protestant churches, especially African American denominations and congregations, watch night services held on New Year’s Eve are often spent praying and making resolutions for the coming year.

Despite the tradition’s religious roots, New Year’s resolutions today are a mostly secular practice. Instead of making promises to the gods, most people make resolutions only to themselves, and focus purely on self-improvement (which may explain why such resolutions seem so hard to follow through on). According to recent research, while as many as 45 percent of Americans say they usually make New Year’s resolutions, only 8 percent are successful in achieving their goals. But that dismal record probably won’t stop people from making resolutions anytime soon—after all, we’ve had about 4,000 years of practice. (Source)

Modern-day New Year’s resolutions - New Year’s resolutions appeared to be common by the 17th century. In 1671, New Year’s Scottish writer Anne Halkett wrote a diary entry that contained several pledges such as “I will not offend anymore”. Anne wrote the entry on January 2nd and titled the page “Resolutions”.

By 1802, the tradition of making (and failing to keep) New Year’s resolutions was common enough that people satirised the practice. Walker’s Hibernian Magazine wrote a series of joke resolutions such as “Statesmen have resolved to have no other object in view than the good of their country…”

A Boston newspaper from 1813 featured the first recorded use of the phrase ‘New Year resolution’. The article states:

“And yet, I believe there are multitudes of people, accustomed to receive injunctions of new year resolutions, who will sin all the month of December, with a serious determination of beginning the new year with new resolutions and new behaviour, and with the full belief that they shall thus expiate and wipe away all their former faults.”

The history of making and breaking New Year’s resolutions continues to this day.

Why do people make New Year’s resolutions? - Modern New Year’s resolutions are a largely secular practice, with most people making resolutions to themselves rather than promising gods. The focus of the tradition is on self-improvement, with people taking time to reflect on their goals.

Today’s resolutions are often health focused, driven by the indulgence of the Christmas period. The symbology of the New Year also makes it a great time to wipe the slate clean and start fresh after December 31st.

At least 40% of people in the United States set New Year’s resolutions, while 22% of people in the UK aim for self-improvement with a resolution.

Yet, research shows that 80% of people break their resolutions by the first week of February and only 8% are successful in achieving their goals at all.

Despite having over 4,000 years of practice, these figures aren’t likely to improve any time soon. Experts say we’re doomed to fail when making New Year’s resolutions thanks to unrealistic expectations.

We set lofty goals that quickly become overwhelming, and we fail to make a plan to achieve these goals. The key to completing your resolution is to break it down into small, tangible steps. Instead of saying, “I want to get fit”, set a specific goal like going to a gym class every Monday and Wednesday.

Here are some of the most common resolutions made on January 1st each year.

• Eat healthier

• Exercise more

• Lose weight

• Save more money and pay off debt

• Learn a new skill or hobby

• Travel more

• Watch less TV

• Read more

• Find a new job

• Volunteer with a charity

• Start your own business

• Quit smoking

• Drink less alcohol

• Spend more time with family and friends (Source)