A common thing for people to do in the time before the New Year is to look back over the current year and reflect on it. Many people decide what they did right in the last year, remember the highlights of it- maybe a birthday or a holiday- and then they look at what they want to do better in the New Year. This is a common occurrence- the prospect of a clean slate seems promising to a lot of people- but where does it come from?

It's thought that the first New Year’s Resolutions came from the Ancient Babylonians around 4000 years ago. Their year began with their agricultural cycle- in mid-March, when seeds were planted to be harvested some months later. At this time of year, they would offer their gods promises regarding themselves and their behaviour, which could be seen as the original New Year’s Resolutions. Typical resolutions included freeing themselves of debt- either by paying back any owed money or by returning things which did not belong to them.

Rather like the better-known Greek or Roman gods, the Babylonian deities shared power and responsibility over the different aspects of human life and could be influenced by human worship. The Ancient Babylonians believed that, by keeping the promises which they made at the beginning of the New Year, they were likely to be rewarded by their gods over the course of the year- and vice versa. If they did not keep the promises made at the start of the year, they could be punished.