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 theyve 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 talking about the ancient Babylonians.

每當新的一年来临之际，人们都会计划改变自己。他们会决心减肥，找到一份新工作，或者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？为什么很多人在最终没能实现新年计划，但这个传统依旧在延续呢？我们可以从古巴比伦人开始谈起。

Around 4，000 years ago in Babylon， the earliest recorded celebration honoring the coming of a new year was held. Calendars werent 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.

现存最早有记载的新年庆祝活动是在约4 000年前的古巴比伦进行的。因为当时的历法和如今不同，所以古巴比伦人在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，但古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 a Resolution Map，  where people could add resolutions and see others adding theirs in real time， was launched on the Internet in 2012. However， no matter how many people participated in this 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。以至网上在2012年推出了一个“决心地图”，人们可以添加自己的计划，并看到其他人实时添加的计划。然而，无论有多少人参加了这个项目，当涉及坚持实现计划的人数时，数字很惨淡：只有9.2%的人能坚持到底。

Word Bank

festivity /fe'st?v?ti/ n. 庆祝活动

dedicated /'ded?ke?t?d/ adj. 献身的；专心致志的；一心一意的

sync /s??k/ v. 使同步（synchronize的缩略词）

bleak /bli?k/ adj. 不乐观的；无望的；暗淡的