New Year, Old Habits: Resolutions Ancient History

At Outatime Tours, we know a thing or two about the past. It turns out, your "New Year, New Me" goals are actually a 4,000-year-old tradition.

Outatime Tours guides love to spend time guiding you through the incredible stories of the past. But right now, everyone’s focus is on the future. The holiday decorations are packed away, the champagne is gone, and the notebooks are out. It’s resolution season.

We tend to think of New Year’s resolutions as a modern struggle, a battle between us and our gym memberships. But as historical enthusiasts, we know that the urge to wipe the slate clean is one of the oldest human instincts.

We aren’t the first generation to promise we’ll do better. In fact, if we took our tour back roughly 4,000 years, we’d find people doing the exact same thing (though their lists looked a little different).

Here is the history of resolutions, from the Outatime perspective.

Stop 1: Babylon (c. 2000 B.C.)

The Resolution: "I promise to return my neighbor’s lawnmower."

Our first stop is ancient Babylon. The Babylonians were the first to hold recorded celebrations of a new year, though they didn't do it in the dead of winter. They kicked things off in mid-March, coinciding with the planting of crops.

They celebrated a massive 12-day festival called Akitu. If we were guiding a tour there, you’d see a spectacle: the crowning of kings and massive religious ceremonies.

It was here that the very first "resolutions" were made. But these weren't internal promises to eat fewer carbs. They were external, public vows to the gods. The most common promises were paying off debts and returning borrowed fam equipment.

The stakes were high then. If you kept your word, the gods granted you a bountiful harvest. If you broke it, you didn't just feel guilty, you risked the wrath of the cosmos. (Suddenly, failing to floss doesn't seem so scary).

Stop 2: Ancient Rome (c. 46 B.C.)

The Resolution: "I promise to look both ways."

Next, we travel to Rome. Thanks to Julius Caesar tinkering with the calendar, the New Year was moved to January 1st.

This date was significant because the month was named for Janus, the two-faced god. He is the god of doorways and transitions. He is depicted with two faces: one looking backward into the past, and one looking forward into the future.

The Romans loved this symbolism. They made sacrifices to Janus and promised good conduct for the coming year. It wasn't just about "improving," it was about transitioning successfully from one chapter of life to the next.

The Modern Shift

From Vows to Self-Help

For centuries, resolutions were religious vows. It wasn't until the Victorian era and the early 20th century that the focus shifted from "being good for God" to "being better for myself."

The "New Year's Resolution" became a secular tool for self-improvement. By the early 1900s, newspapers were already publishing cartoons joking about how quickly people broke their resolutions. It seems that procrastination is truly timeless.

Your Resolution for This Year

Why does this matter to us?

Because it reminds us that, from the Babylonian farmer needing to return a neighbor's plow, to the Roman citizen seeking Janus’s favor, to you trying to read more books this year, the underlying drive is the same. It is a universal human desire to close the door on the past, believe in the possibility of redemption, and hope that the future version of ourselves will be just a little bit better.

This year, why not make a resolution that is easy to keep?

40% of Americans make resolutions, statistics show just a fraction keep them. So, instead of resolving to deny yourself things (like chocolate or sleep), resolve to add something. Add an adventure. Add a new story. Add a connection to the past.

Happy New Year from Outatime Tours!