New year's resolution 🆕🗓️🎯
Meaning
A personal goal or promise made at the beginning of a new year to improve oneself or one's life.
Origin
The ancient Babylonians kicked things off, making promises to their gods around the start of their new year, which fell in March. These weren't exactly about hitting the gym, more about paying debts and returning borrowed items. Fast forward to the ancient Romans, who dedicated January to Janus, their two-faced god of beginnings and endings. They'd make promises to Janus for the year ahead. The Christian tradition later linked it to December 31st, with early church members making resolutions to live more devout lives. But it was in the early 19th century that the idea really solidified into the personal self-improvement pact we recognize today, catching on as a widespread cultural habit.
New year's resolution represented with emoji🆕🗓️🎯
This delightful sequence functions as a playful wink towards freshly turned calendars and the optimistic, often fleeting, promises we make to ourselves. It invites us to consider the ephemeral nature of intentions, and how the universal human desire for renewal can be distilled into such simple, delightful icons.
Examples
- My main new year's resolution this year is to read more books.
- She decided her new year's resolution would be to learn a new skill.
- I'm making a new year's resolution to finally teach my cat how to fetch the newspaper.
- This year's new year's resolution is to convince the squirrels in the park to start a synchronized swimming team.
Frequently asked questions
The oldest known New Year's resolutions were made by the ancient Babylonians around 4,000 years ago. They would pledge to return borrowed items and pay their debts as a way to start the year favorably with their gods.
No, New Year's resolutions have a very long history stretching back to ancient civilizations. While the modern focus on self-improvement is more recent, the practice of making promises for the new year dates back to the Babylonians and Romans.
Not primarily; early New Year's resolutions by the Babylonians and Romans were more about honoring gods, paying debts, and maintaining good relations. The focus shifted to personal self-improvement much later, becoming common in the early 19th century.