New Year's Resolution
I didn't make a New Year's resolution this year. Did you?
The truth is I haven't made a New Year's resolution in several years. I think that somewhere along the way I simply accepted that I have a full plate and, therefore, don't have time for anything else, especially something as overwhelming as a New Year's resolution can be.
It got me thinking, though, and I was curious how New Year's resolutions got started. I did a little research (for those of you following us on Facebook, yes, more research) and I was surprised what I found. For the most part, I've always thought of New Year's resolution as a secular activity. It was a good idea. Spiritual resolutions were a very good idea, but the idea of resolutions as a whole I never associated with any religion. Wow, I could not have been more wrong!
What I found was that New Year's resolutions started with the Babylonians. At the start of their new year they would make promises to their pagan gods. It started as a pagan tradition! Who knew, right? It continued with the Romans who made sacrifices to their pagan god. Still a pagan tradition! The research was definitely eye opening if nothing else.
Eventually, the Methodist began to offer alternate activities for the New Year's celebrations, holding a church service instead of the wildness you can otherwise find on New Year's Eve. It must not have stuck or been as widely picked up however, because now most people, like myself, see New Year's resolutions as a mostly secular activity. It makes me wonder how many more secular practices were born of pagan traditions.
If you're interested in checking it out for yourself, I got my information from history.com. http://www.history.com/news/the-history-of-new-years-resolutions
