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.

Make a Resolution: Many of us have given up making New Year’s resolutions to avoid the embarrassment of realizing nothing’s going to change. To break that cycle, this year, make goals that are completely realistic.

Make Commitments You Can’t Undo: Buy a gym membership, and go shopping for healthier food choices. It’s easier to stick to those commitments than waste your money.

Party and Be Merry: The most important resolution you can make on New Year’s is to start it right. Host a gettogether in your home or hit the club. Having a good time will give you the motivation you need to stick to your resolutions.

You Can Hold Yourself Accountable: If you’ve been struggling with some bad habits and don’t feel good about yourself, this is the time to reflect on these things. Time to stop guilt-tripping yourself and set a plan to reach your goal.

It’s a Good Time to Restart: Ever get a burst of motivation and start making all these plans only to wake up uninterested the following morning? Well, there’s no better time to start than a new year.

Everyone is On the Same Boat: You’re not the only one making resolutions and struggling to keep them. Discuss your plans with your friends and keep yourselves in check.

1. Most People Give Up by February: The number of people keeping their resolutions goes down every week with about 80% completely giving up on their resolutions by February.

2. Nearly Half of Americans Make Yearly Resolutions: About 45% of Americans consistently make New Year’s resolutions every year.

3. Each Country has Strange Traditions: The Spanish attempt to eat 12 grapes, one for each stroke of midnight, the Danish throw plates against their front door, and the Estonians attempt to eat a lucky number of meals.

4. The Color of Your Underwear Matters: Latinos wear yellow underwear for good luck and Italians looking for love wear red on New Year's Eve.

5. New Year’s Day and Car Theft: New Year's Day is one of the holidays when vehicles are most likely to be stolen.

The tradition of celebrating the start of the year began about 5,000 years ago in Ancient Egypt. They celebrated ‘We pet Renpet (opening of the year) in midsummer during the annual flooding of the Nile River as this meant their lands would be fertile. Though there’s no evidence they made any resolutions, they celebrated as we do now, with alcohol and food. It was later that traditions surrounding this holiday became non-secular.

The first people known to make New Year’s resolutions are ancient Babylonians. They resolved to pay back debts and return borrowed objects. It was even more important for Babylonians to keep their resolutions as they were making them not to themselves but to the gods. Failing yourself is one thing, but breaking a promise you made to a god is a toughie. Ancient Romans celebrated the new year as well.

It was Julius Caesar who altered the calendar, naming the first month of January after the Roman god Janus, the god of beginnings, transitions, time, and endings. All in all, a suitable name for the start of the year. Similar to the Babylonians, ancient Romans made promises to the gods. These promises revolved around behaving well and performing good deeds.

Celebrating the new year was popularized by Christian Methodists who revolved the holiday around religion. In 1755, John Wesley — an English clergyman — created the Covenant Renewal Service. The service is held on the first Sunday where people read scripture, sing hymns, and say prayers from the Methodist Worship Book. The purpose of this is to renew and strengthen your faith in God.

These days we view New Year’s as a secular holiday, going out and throwing parties. We promise to change not to our pagan gods but ourselves. Most New Year’s resolutions revolve around self-improvement, though many are unsuccessful.