The tradition of the New Year's Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early
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.
January 2, 2010
Where did the New Year's Resolution Originate?
Posted by Pamela at 1:00 PM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
What a cool site!! I love it :-) I am following you from MBC!
that's kinda interesting. I tend to start the resolutions that I keep up way before the calendar new year. That way I avoid all the hype in January.
Following from MBC :)
Post a Comment