What is the origin of the new year’s resolution, and how long has this tradition been around for?
These are the questions that almost, but don’t quite, haunt my dreams at night / I was idly wondering about earlier today.
I tried searching, but I couldn’t find any instances where this question has been asked before (here or on Google, anyway)…
Is there even any (reliable) information about this?
From Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things: “Four Tthousand years ago, the ancient Babylonians made resolutions part of their New Year’s celebrations. While two of the most popular present-day resolutions might be to lose weight and to quit smoking, the Babylonians had their own two favorites: to pay off outstanding debts and to return all borrowed farming tools and household utensils.”
The author gives no source for this information that I could find (but I’ll admit I didn’t look too hard–I believe everything I read and make it fit into my progressively twisted little universe).