January 8, 2021: Resolutions

Happy New Year! I did a Google search for the “History of New Year’s Resolutions” to learn the origins of this tradition in preparation for this week’s column. The first several links returned were different sources but told the same basic history. I was surprised to learn that the first recorded evidence of New Year’s Resolutions goes back thousands of years to 4,000 B.C. in ancient Babylonia. Their new year began in what is now mid-March during planting season. They made promises to their pagan gods to pay back debts or return borrowed items to their rightful owners in hopes of plentiful crops. Read More