There was a time when we were young, learning as we lived each day, with a desire to please when possible. It was with much discontent when we were scolded for not performing in the proper manner, so we tried and tried to do it again the correct way. In essence, a lesson in life that provided early insight into failure with the will to keep trying. A foundation for the resolutions we make as adults as one year ends and another begins.
New Year resolutions have been around for a very long time, it is said the concept dates back around 4,000 years. It was our friends the ancient Babylonians that are believed to have made the first resolutions at the start of the new year. The Babylonians recorded this history and wrote of celebrations honoring the new year. They celebrated the planting of a new crop for a period of 12 days and crowned a new king or committed again to the old king. The Babylonians made promises to their gods and made every effort to not take things that did not belong to them. A good outlook for anyone that wants to enjoy a better standing in society, especially if you want your crops to grow. These early resolutions linked to the new year lasted for thousands of years until a man named Julius Caesar came along. The Roman Emperor Julius Caesar saw the need to change the date the new year started, while the Babylonians celebrated the start of the new year with the planting of their crops in March, Caesar decided the new year should start in January. It was in 46 BC that Emperor Julius Caesar proposed a new calendar that is known to this day as our Julian calendar, starting our new year on Jan. 1.
The Romans made their own resolutions each year as the new year was about to begin on Jan. 1. They made sacrifices to their gods with the promise to behave well in the upcoming year. This worked well for the Romans during this period and certainly had a significant impact on the way we live our lives with our calendars.
It has been said that the very first time the phrase “New Year’s Resolution” was used in print in the United States was in the year 1813. It was in Massachusetts that the term was first used in a Boston newspaper. It was mentioned with a certain degree of satire and certainly enjoyed by many as the young country was about to embark on another year. The story tells of those that sinned for the month of December repenting and promising to behave in a good manner with the start of the new year. As the decades passed, and the centuries too, the New Year’s Resolutions have become very personal and focused on self-improvement, unlike our friends the Babylonians and the Romans.
It is myself, my parents and my grandparents before that I have heard collective resolutions over my many decades. During the prohibition period many of our ancestors promised to abstain from the consumption of spirits. During the Great Depression resolutions focused on determination to find employment and provide food, clothing and shelter for the family. Our Concord ancestors certainly lived their lives with expectations, desires and hope as each year arrived. We are very much like our ancestors, those that walked the cobbled streets of Concord a century or more ago. We desire the same things they too desired.
As we set our resolutions for the start of the year 2022 many will revert to the common objectives such as controlling their debt, weight or temperament. This works for some people,
I am always optimistic and believe that anyone can accomplish anything if they persevere. Unfortunately, statistics sometimes tell another story – 45 percent of Americans will make a resolution this year, with 8 percent enjoying the success of accomplishing their objective.
Resolutions are a wonderful way to accomplish goals, allowing us to remain focused for a period of time. I have always felt the majority of people, myself included, make our resolutions and keep them only within our hearts. As each new year approaches, I hope for many things, common things that the average person would also desire. I hope my family and your family remain safe and healthy. I hope that we are not the victims of crime or subjected to this dreaded pandemic that shadows our days. I want those in need to find what they desire so that they can live their lives in peace. Perhaps this is the year that the hungry will be fed, the cold will be warmed by strangers on the street and we will be able to once again hug one another without concern.
Though we enter the new year anonymously behind our masks we are all the same. Spread peace and harmony within our community and love will grow throughout the year.
Happy New Year my friends.