Why Do We Make New Year's Resolutions?

"They celebrated the start of January by giving offerings to the month's namesake, Janus - the two-faced god of beginnings and endings - and auspicious gifts (like twigs from sacred trees) to their loved ones. "It was a day to make promises and offerings," McCrossen says. "I think that's the origin of our New Year's resolution, because a resolution is a kind of promise.""

"Other cultures and countries came to view the new year as a time for self-reflection and goal-setting, especially from a religious perspective. There was the medieval " Vow of the Peacock," an end-of-Christmas-season feast where knights renewed their vows of chivalry by placing their hands on (you guessed it) a peacock. In well-documented diary entries from the early 1800s, John Quincy Adams, the sixth U.S. president, detailed spiritual reflections from the past year and wishes for the next one."

"But it wasn't until the 20th century that Americans en masse began celebrating New Year's as a holiday, and making secular resolutions a part of it."

Ancient Romans associated Jan. 1 with promises and offerings, honoring Janus with gifts to the god and auspicious presents to loved ones. Other cultures later treated the new year as a time for self-reflection and goal-setting, often within religious frameworks. Medieval European rituals included the Vow of the Peacock, and early American figures like John Quincy Adams recorded spiritual reflections and wishes for the coming year. England and its colonies began recognizing Jan. 1 as New Year only after adopting the Gregorian calendar in 1752; prior calendars placed the new year on March 25. Widespread American New Year's celebrations and secular resolutions emerged in the 20th century.

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