As we move through the natural year of four seasons, we also move through the calendar year. Those two methods of reckoning time passing do not align directly and so we often compare and contrast them. The season blend one into another so that the changes are gradual and sometimes we don’t even realize the shift is happening. The change from one calendar year to another is presented in popular culture as a period to make changes in our lives. There is even a name for this practice – the “New Year’s Resolution”. People regularly make promises to themselves, and sometimes to others, about making some specific changes in their lives. And even when people make those promises and changes, they usually taper off over time. Relatively soon those resolutions fall by the wayside.
Where does this tradition of New Year’s Resolutions originate? After all, the changing of the calendar does seem like a logical time to make changes in our lives, certainly more logical than just any day in the winter chosen at random. It is so ingrained in contemporary culture that it cannot be a relatively recent practice.
It is possible that the ancient Babylonians were the first people to make New Year’s resolutions over 4,000 years ago. We know this because they wrote about it. They were the first group currently known to have written records of making resolutions for a new year. They may or may not have been the first to make resolutions, they were just the first to write about it. That will change if archeologists uncover an older record.
Ancient Romans continued the practice, particularly after the calendar reforms of Julius Caesar around 45 B.C. established January 1 as the start of a new year. Early Christians also used the change of years to reflect on the past year and identify changes they wished to make in the new. In 1740, a “watch night service” was established by English clergyman John Wesley to promote Scripture readings, prayers, and songs in churches as the years changes to be a spiritual alternative to the raucous parties of the day. And so these traditions continue into the current day. The desire for a fresh start is a universal human impulse.
In my own life I prefer the term “goals” to that of “resolutions”. These are things I want to pursue, rather than making almost impossible promises to self and others. As I participate in reaching my goals for the new year, it becomes a process that I try to continue for the whole year. Here are my goals for 2025:
1. I will continue writing and posting photographs on this website. Since I began I have written over 100 of these brief essays and posted a number of my favorite photographs. The process is enjoyable and, I hope, instructive.
2. I want to take more photographs in 2025 than I did in 2024. This is a recurring goal and was achieved in each of the past two years. The more photographs one takes, the more one learns about photography.
3. Finally, I want to spend more time outdoors. Camping, fishing, hunting, general woods wandering, and more are all included in this goal. Just being out in the natural world is a positive outcome.
With that, I wish you all a Happy New Year.