Where do New Years resolutions come from?
Making resolutions to behave better in the new year is a tradition that goes as far back as the Babylonians, who celebrated their new year on the first day of spring-though even before that, ancient Romans got their fresh start by asking peers for forgiveness for the sins of the past year. These days, promising yourself that you’ll give up junk food, get back to the gym, or find a new job is easy after the month-long indulgence that comes between Thanksgiving and Christmas—but keeping them is much more difficult (which has turned the breaking of resolutions into a tradition of its own).
