New Year’s Resolutions – the Beginnings The time honored New Year’s resolutions go back to 2000 B.C. when the ancient Babylonians of the Middle East held their spring and fall equinoxes festivals. A new year was the New Moon, the first visible crescent after the Vernal Equinox, the first day of spring. Back then, people marked the beginning of a New Year by returning borrowed items from friends and family along with repaying any loans. The concept was to have a fresh start for the New Year.
The ancient Romans pledged to be on better behavior to those people around them in the New Year. They also asked for forgiveness of their enemies. They offered worship to the Roman god, Janus, who was the god of beginnings and endings. The name of the month January comes from Janus.
Other cultures around the globe believe New Year’s resolutions can help keep away any evil spirits and the demons of the past. The idea was to leave behind the past and start fresh with the New Year.
In Colonial America of the mid-1750s, it was Benjamin Franklin who said; “the notion of making resolutions on New Years was for the purposes of banishing baneful habits.”
A baby has been the traditional symbol of a New Year because it represents a rebirth, a new beginning of life.
So with such a long tradition of New Year’s resolutions, go ahead … have the good intentions or desires, and do your best to be successful. A suggestion would be to begin the creation of your family tree, something that can have lasting benefits.
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