The
History of New Year's Resolutions
The tradition of the New Year's Resolutions goes all the
way back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome
was placed at the head of the calendar.
With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and
forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for
resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their
enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of
each year.
The New Year has not always begun on January 1, and it doesn't
begin on that date everywhere today. It begins on that date
only for cultures that use a 365-day solar calendar.
January 1 became the beginning of the New Year in 46 B.C.,
when Julius Caesar developed a calendar that would more accurately
reflect the seasons than previous calendars had.
The Romans named the first month of the year after Janus,
the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and entrances.
He was always depicted with two faces, one on the front of
his head and one on the back. Thus he could look backward and
forward at the same time. At midnight on December 31, the Romans
imagined Janus looking back at the old year and forward to
the new. The Romans began a tradition of exchanging gifts on
New Year's Eve by giving one another branches from sacred trees
for good fortune. Later, nuts or coins imprinted with the god
Janus became more common New Year's gifts.
In the Middle Ages, Christians changed New Year's Day to December
25, the birth of Jesus. Then they changed it to March 25, a
holiday called the Annunciation. In the sixteenth century,
Pope Gregory XIII revised the Julian calendar, and the celebration
of the New Year was returned to January 1.
The Julian and Gregorian calendars are solar calendars. Some
cultures have lunar calendars, however. A year in a lunar calendar
is less than 365 days because the months are based on the phases
of the moon. The Chinese use a lunar calendar. Their new year
begins at the time of the first full moon (over the FarEast)
after the sun enters Aquarius- sometime between January 19
and February 21.
Although the date for New Year's Day is not the same in every
culture, it is always a time for celebration and for customs
to ensure good luck in the coming year. |
