Why Do We Make New Year's Resolutions



为什么我们会制定新年计划

Every time a new year rolls around, people set out to better themselves. They promise they will lose weight, find a new job, or maybe even take that vacation they've always talked about. But why do we make these promises to ourselves, and where did this tradition come from? And why does this tradition live on when so many people fail to keep the resolutions they make? Well, we can start by blaming the ancient Babylonians.


每当新的一年来临之际，人们都会决定改变自己。他们会决心减肥，找到一份新工作，甚至可能会过一个讨论已久的假期。但我们为什么要对自己定下这些目标呢？这个传统又从何而来呢？为什么很多人最终都没能实现新年目标，但这个传统依旧延续呢？我们可以从古巴比伦人开始谈起。

Around 4000 years ago in Babylon, the earliest recorded celebration honoring the coming of a new year was held. Calendars weren’t as they are today, so the Babylonians kicked things off in late March during the first new moon after the Spring Equinox. The collective ceremonial events were known as the Akitu festival, which lasted 11 days. The festivities were dedicated to the rebirth of the sun god Marduk, but the Babylonians made promises in order to get on the right side of all of their gods. They felt this would help them start the new year off on the right foot.


有记载的最早的庆祝新年的活动是在约4000年前的古巴比伦进行的。当时的历法和如今不同，所以巴比伦人在3月下旬春分后的第一个新月期间迎来新的一年。集体的庆祝仪式被称为阿基图节，这一节日会持续11天。虽然这一庆祝活动是为了纪念太阳神马杜克的重生，但巴比伦人为了被众神庇护，会做出承诺，他们觉得这将帮助他们开启新年的开门红。

Resolutions continued on with the Romans. When the early Roman calendar no longer synced up with the sun, Julius Caesar decided to make a change. He consulted with the best astronomers and mathematicians of the time and introduced the Julian calendar, which more closely represents the modern calendar we use today. Caesar declared January 1 the first day of the year to honor the god of new beginnings, Janus. The Romans celebrated the New Year by offering sacrifices to Janus.


罗马人延续了这种做出承诺的做法。当早期的罗马日历不再与太阳同步时，凯撒大帝决定做出改变。他请教了当时最好的天文学家和数学家，并引入了儒略历，它更接近于我们今天使用的现代历法。凯撒大帝宣布1月1日为新年的第一天，以纪念善始善终之神雅努斯。罗马人通过向雅努斯献祭来庆祝新年。

To this day, the traditions of the ancient Babylonians and Romans continue on around the world. So much so that Google launched a Resolution Map in 2012 where people could add resolutions and see others adding theirs in real time. However, no matter how many people participated in Google’s project, the numbers are bleak when it comes to the amount of people who maintain their resolutions; only 9.2 percent of people are successful in sticking them out.


直到今天，古巴比伦人和罗马人的传统仍在世界各地延续，以至于谷歌在2012年推出了一个“决心地图”，人们可以添加自己的目标，并看到其他人实时添加的目标。然而，无论有多少人参加了谷歌的项目，当涉及到坚持实现目标的人数时，数字很惨淡：只有9.2%的人能坚持到底。

The most popular resolutions:


最常见的新年目标：

Lose weight/eat healthier减肥/健康饮食

Get organized有计划有条理

Save more money存钱

Quit smoking戒烟

Enjoy life享受生活

Spend more quality time with close friends and family members多花些时间在亲密朋友和家人身上

Get—and stay—healthy变得健康并保持健康

Learn something new学些新东西

Help others pursue their goals帮助他人追求目标

Find love找到真爱

If those failed resolutions above look familiar and remind you that the whole concept is a bust, or if they inspire you to create your own list of promises for 2020, just remember that this tradition is destined to live on. We have 4000 years worth of history telling us so, and that's a statistic that's hard to argue with.


如果以上这些失败的目标看起来很熟悉，并且这提醒你立flag注定会失败，或者如果它们激励你计划自己的2020年目标，一定要记住这个传统注定是会继续下去的。4000年的历史向我们展现了这一点，而且不容置疑。