Near the end of every year, the prospect of rising from the fog of holiday hustle, bustle and feasts to contemplate how to do better next year is welcomed by many, ignored by some and resented by others.
The practice of making New Year’s resolutions may be done with optimistic intent. But usually by the second month of the year, about 64% of those self-improvement hopefuls abandon their goals, perhaps leaving some to wonder, “Why do we even have this tradition in the first place?”
The answer, it turns out, traces back 3,000 to 4,000 years, to the ancient Babylonian festival of Akitu, celebrated in April, said Dr. Candida Moss, the Edward Cadbury Professor of Theology in the department of theology and religion at the University of Birmingham in England, via email.
The timing of the festival and beginning of the Babylonians’ new year — which also sometimes occurred in March, marking the start of the farming season — was based on the Babylonian calendar, said Dr. Louisa McKenzie, an art historian, journalist and associate fellow at the Warburg Institute in London, via email. The ancient city of Babylon was located in what’s now Iraq, roughly 55 miles (88.5 kilometers) south of Baghdad.
“Like many ancient New Year’s festivals, (Akitu) lauded creation and fertility on both an agricultural and cosmic scale,” Moss said. “The mythic origin of the feast was the creation of the world by the god Marduk. According to the myth called Enuma Elish, the world came into existence when Marduk slew his female rival Tiamat and created the heavens and earth out of her dismembered carcass.”
At the Akita festival, Moss added, people gathered to marvel at the wonders of creation and the victory of murderous, bloody order over chaos. It was also at this festival that Babylonians engaged in the first form of New Year’s resolutions, partly to placate temperamental gods — such as by vowing to pay off debts or by returning borrowed farm equipment.
Civilizations across the world have celebrated the turning of the year for millennia, McKenzie said. Although the Romans didn’t necessarily use the term resolutions, they tried to enter the new year with a positive mindset, as recorded by early first century texts such as the Roman poet Ovid’s “Fasti” — a six-part account of the Roman year and its religious festivals.
They also exchanged gifts of figs and honey or other foodstuffs that represented prosperity, and ensured they worked for part of the day as a good omen for the coming year, Moss said.
Rome’s highest officials resolved to remain loyal to the republic and swore oaths to the emperor.
Here’s how the custom has evolved, and remained the same, over the years.
The long-held desire to be better
When it comes to ancient forms of New Year’s resolutions, “the logic here is very much along the principle of ‘start as you mean to go on,’” Moss said. “Throughout history we see the same principle at play.”
In Ireland, having a clean house at the start of the year symbolized a fresh start and the luck of the house for the coming year.
There’s also the figuratively regenerative burning of the Año Viejo in Colombia, Ecuador and other parts of Latin America. In this out-with-the-old tradition, which is Spanish for “old year,” families stuff a life-size male doll with memories of the outgoing year or other materials and dress it in their clothing before setting the doll ablaze at midnight.
More recent versions of New Year’s rituals have their roots in Colonial America, Moss said.
“Among 17th- and 18th-century Puritans there was a desire to avoid debauchery and reflect on the passing and coming years,” she added. “In 1740, John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, introduced the Covenant Renewal Service as an alternative to raucous celebrations. These gatherings included night watch services, hymn singing, and reflection.”
Over several years, New England theologian Jonathan Edwards, another notable figure in the First Great Awakening, created a list of 70 resolutions for himself to live by, which included treating people with kindness and avoiding gossip, according to Moss.
“One of the earliest surviving written references to a New Year’s resolution as we know it is found in the diary of Anne Halkett, Scottish memoirist and writer of religious texts,” McKenzie said. “On 2 January 1671 she made a note of her intentions for the coming year under the heading ‘resolutions.’ This isolated reference is likely indicative of a more widespread practice.”