The History of New Year's Resolutions

The tradition of the New Year's Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar.

With two faces, Janus could look back on past events and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year.

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.

The Julian and Gregorian calendars are solar calendars. Some cultures have lunar calendars, however. A year in a lunar calendar is less than 365 days because the months are based on the phases of the moon. The Chinese use a lunar calendar. Their new year begins at the time of the first full moon (over the Far East) after the sun enters Aquarius- sometime between January 19 and February 21.

Although the date for New Year's Day is not the same in every culture, it is always a time for celebration and for customs to ensure good luck in the coming year.


 

Gary Ryan Blair is the inspiration behind New Year's Resolution Week. This annual event was founded on the premise, that a single resolution can positively and profoundly create lasting change in your life and help to make the world a better place. To become part of the world's largest personal change initiative, visit www.GoalsGuy.com.

“What is it about Grande Prairie?” I was faced with the question that many of my family ask from time to time once again the other day. You see, they have all been here, and most of them have lived here. They all eventually migrated back to the Okanogan, and I have remained here, loyal to my “Home”. They can’t understand it and they make it sound like I live in some remote hell, far north of where anyone with any ounce of sanity would consider living.

Let me paint you the picture of their “jaded” opinions. Spring…1994…Or what was supposed to be spring…It was April after all. My dad got up to go to work and was once again faced with snow drifts up to his waist and the wind howling at about -50! He snapped! He packed up the family and headed home, vowing to never live here again. My sister and I remained, having found roots of our own. Eventually those “roots” rotted away and my sister returned to her home. I must admit that I did try at one time to leave, but the economy in southern BC didn’t suite my mentality at the time, and I found myself heading back to my northern home with the prospect of making a decent living, owning property and raising a family.

Grande Prairie was a city booming with prosperity and growing like crazy. I guess you could say I was caught up in the hustle and bustle. With people working hard, unemployment almost non existent, good friends, and contrary to the beliefs of my family, not bad weather, Grande Prairie offers me almost everything I could want in a home. That spring that everyone turned tail and took off was the last year in a long time that we suffered the bitter, endless grasps of winter’s fury.  I have seen the 10^th of December come and go many times with barley a skiff of snow and people about their Christmas shopping with out the bulk of a jacket. Sure the temperature still drops on occasion, like this past Wednesday for instance. At six am the radio declared that it was a cold minus sixteen outside and two short hours later the mercury was hovering at plus three! Where else but Grande Prairie does the weather change every few minutes? Where else but Grande Prairie can you shovel your drive way before work and pull weeds from your flower beds that afternoon?

So to my sister in law who said to me the other day (she has never been here and my brother won’t bring her) “What is so terrible about Grande Prairie? It can’t be near as bad as they make it sound!” I would say “It’s not!” It is a wonderful place to live, to work, and to play! I can shop in some of the best stores in the afternoon and hit the slopes for some night time fun. I can take in a live theatre production one evening and head out for some target practice the next! I can dine in the finest restaurants and sweat in the best gyms. Swimming, hiking, river racing, skating, skiing, sledding, Motocross, theatre, movies, shopping, baseball, football, hockey, and soccer. Highland games, Maple Sugar Festival, Street Performers, bike rallies. Parades, drive-in movies, drag wars and mud bogs. Hunting, fishing, snowmobiling, rock climbing, camping. I could go on, and I probably will the next time someone asks, “What is it about Grande Prairie?” I think I can honestly reply “What isn’t it?”

Congrats Priscilla!!!!! Priscilla was just nominated and voted in to be a representative on the Grande Prairie Regional Tourism Board. Priscilla will be an excellent addition to their team and we are looking forward to seeing what ideas and endless possibilites come up from their creativity.

Awesome job - we're are so proud of you!!!!!