It’s said that the first new year’s resolutions were made some 4000 years ago in ancient Babylon. Of course, at that time the beginning of the year was around the middle of what we now call the month of March, not January.

Back then the year was aligned with the seasons, long before Pope Gregory or Julius Caesar got calendars named after them that followed closer to the one we follow today.

During a nearly two week-long festival of ritual and planting, marking the first sowing of barley seed, everyone participated regardless of their social class. During the festival, everyone would return items they borrowed and pay their debts. The people would either crown the new king or affirm their loyalty to the current royalty.

Additionally, everyone would post tributes and promises to their gods in the hopes of a good harvest. These promises, historians say, eventually evolved into our current day New Year’s Resolutions.

Historically Charged

Of course, in 46 BC, Julius Caesar decreed a new calendar. And since the Roman empire, and Caesar it’s king, ruled the modern world, they reset the entire thing to start in January – named for the two-faced deity Janus. The Romans believed his two faces look backward at the previous year and ahead to the new year. Citizens of the Empire also sacrificed to Janus and the other Olympian gods, again, hoping for a good harvest.

Being part of the Roman Empire as it turned from a land worshipping many gods to only venerating one, early Christians adopted the practice of considering the mistakes of the past year and resolving to do better in the future.

In 1740, Charles Wesley created a new church service for the Methodist denomination called the Covenant Renewal Service. It quickly spread to other evangelical believers and is still celebrated at many churches on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day as a worshipful alternative to the ball drops and raucous year end parties.

American Tradition

The various European people groups that came to our continent brought their traditions with them. And while we don’t offer tributes or promises to gods or kings, New Year’s Resolutions are very much still a popular thing.

The term ‘New Year Resolution’ first appeared in a Boston newspaper in 1813, although the article sounds more like a condemnation of the practice: “I believe there are multitudes of people, accustomed to receive injunctions of new year resolutions, who will sin all the month of December, with a serious determination of beginning the new year with new resolutions and new behaviour…”

A significant majority of Americans do still make resolutions every new year, many of them focusing on better health, mental wellness, spending more time with their families and improving work-life balance.

Keeping those resolutions is another thing.

A recent Forbes Health/One Poll survey found that only 6% of people who make new year’s resolutions actually see a real change in their lives. Most resolutions are discarded in the first few months. A few people hold on for 9 months before their commitment completely falls apart.

Resolving for a Better Future

One resolution we don’t hear about too often, but can be easy to keep, is the resolution to keep your home and family pest free. Keeping insects and other creepy crawlies on the outside of your house helps your family stay healthier and protects your clothes, food, and furniture from destruction.

The best part is our Go Green Perimeter Plus solution, like all of our pest treatments, is safe for the environment as well as your family and pets. Instead of harsh chemical pesticides, we provide the most effective, greenest solutions you can find.

And we make it easy for you to keep the resolution providing our easy to use payment portal to keep up with your commitment each month. For more information, please just give us a call!