New Year Resolutions

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 honour of the new year; though for the Babylonians the year began in mid-March, when 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, and made promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed. If the Babylonians kept to their word, their gods would bestow favour on them for the coming year; if not, they would fall out of favour.

A similar practice occurred in ancient Rome, after the 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. 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 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.

So what has this got to do with coming new year 2020?  Nothing really, just interesting bit of history.  Perhaps instead of New Year Resolutions just take time for yourself to reflect on what is important to you not just for 2020.