为什么一到新年就要下定决心？

Why do we make New Year's resolutions?

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? 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.

每当又一个新年来临，人们总要设定提升自己的目标。他们发誓要减肥，找一份新工作，或者去休那个心心念念的假期。但是，为什么我们要在新年下决心？这一传统从何而来呢？为什么这么多人都坚持不了新年决心，这项传统还是能延续下去呢？追根溯源，这要从古巴比伦人说起了。

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.

大约在四千年前，古巴比伦举行了最早记载的新年庆祝活动。那时候的日历和今时不同，古巴比伦人的新年庆祝活动是在三月末，也就是春分后第一轮新月出现的那段时间。这种集体庆祝仪式被称作阿基图庆典，要持续11天。庆典的主题是太阳神马杜克的重生，但是巴比伦人会在庆典上许诺，以取悦诸神。他们觉得这会帮助他们顺利地开始新的一年。

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.

罗马人延续了新年决心的传统。当罗马早期日历不再与太阳同步时，凯撒大帝决定作出改变。他和当时最杰出的天文学家和数学家讨论后，推出了儒略历，这部日历更接近我们现在使用的现代日历。凯撒宣布（现代日历中的）1月1日是一年的第一天，以纪念起源神雅努斯。罗马人用向雅努斯祭祀的方式来庆祝新年。

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 2013 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 eight 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依旧在世界各地延续。谷歌还在2013年推出了新年决心地图，人们可以往地图上添加新年决心，还能实时看到其他人添加新年决心。但是，不论有多少人参加了谷歌的这一项目，最终坚持下来的人数量少得可怜；只有8%的人完成了自己的新年计划。

(图片来源摄图网，版权归摄图网享有)