There’s nothing new about New Year’s resolutions
Dear all,
The pupils have returned with typical gusto and energy, and this has an infectious impact on all of us at Brentwood Prep. Like lots of schools throughout the world, we have also been pondering the opportunities that a New Year provides and reflecting upon what we might have done better in 2023, whether that be getting more sleep, ticking an item off the bucket list or cutting down on indulgences. Doing so is not a modern invention. For millennia, civilisations around the world have been ringing in the new by shaking up the old.
In the second millennium BC, the Babylonian new year was celebrated not in January, but at the start of the farming season in March. Akitu, the spring festival, took place over 12 days, encompassing religious observances centred around the god Marduk, with rituals and communal feasting. Marduk was Babylon’s chief god, akin to Jupiter for the Romans. He would later also be known as Bel, which means Lord. During Akitu, the Enuma elish, a Mesopotamian epic poem, was recited in the Esaglia, a temple complex in Babylon dedicated to Marduk. This poem recounted the Babylonian creation story, the events of which were believed to have unrolled over 12 days, represented by the 12 days of the festival. As part of Akitu, the Babylonians made resolutions in the form of promises to the gods, particularly to pay debts or give back borrowed items, in return for a favourable coming year.
Before 46BC, the ancient Romans also celebrated new year in March. This all changed under Julius Caesar, to whom we owe the introduction of 1 January as the start of a new calendar year, although seeds of the tradition were sown earlier. For some years before Caesar, the consuls-elect, Rome’s highest statesmen, had been formally installed on 1st January. The January date linked the new year to the Roman god, Janus, who had two faces — one looking forward and one looking back — which made him the perfect deity for transitioning from the old to the new. Somewhat ironically, Caesar would be assassinated two years later on what would have previously been New Year’s Day, the Ides of March (15th March).
Whether in March or January, new year was a time for positive intentions for the ancient Romans. There were family gatherings and gifts were exchanged. The Roman poet Ovid describes new year in detail in the Fasti, a six-book poem based around the calendar. He focuses on the need for positivity on January 1 to ensure this would continue all year long.
“A prosperous day dawns: favour our thoughts and speech! Let auspicious words be said on this auspicious day.”
Ovid’s text also indicates a Roman new year tradition that is rather unusual to modern eyes — going to work. It was believed that not doing this was an omen that the whole year would be unproductive.
Although Caesar had ushered in 1st January as New Year’s Day, this was not widely adopted for a long time. Following the rise of Christianity, in different periods the start of a new year was marked on various days of religious significance, including Christmas Day or Easter. The Feast of the Annunciation, celebrated on 25th March, became a common date throughout Europe at which to start the new year.
By the 20th century, new year’s resolutions were common practice. In Little Gidding, the last poem of his Four Quartets, TS Eliot wrote of his desire:
“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language/And next year’s words await another voice.”
In 1942, the same year Little Gidding was published, the American singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie wrote his list of New Year’s Rulin’s in neat, slanted capitals. Among the 33 points on the list there is something for everyone to aspire to: “Eat good — fruit — vegetables — milk”, “Save dough”, “Make up your mind” and “Wake up and fight”. Meanwhile, the American writer Susan Sontag’s 1972 resolution was the admirable,
“Kindness, kindness, kindness. I want to make a New Year’s prayer, not a resolution. I’m praying for courage.”
So, whatever you are considering giving up or taking up this January, you can be safe in the knowledge that those who have gone before you have made the same promises, and undergone the same struggles to keep them.
Jason Whiskerd
