爲什麼一到新年就要下決心?原來這是個悠久傳統

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.

每當又一個新年來臨，人們總要設定提升自己的目標。他們發誓要減肥，找一份新工作，或者去休那個心心念唸的假期。但是，爲什麼我們要在新年下決心？這一傳統從何而來呢？爲什麼這麼多人都堅持不了新年決心，這項傳統還是能延續下去呢？追根溯源，這要從古巴比倫人說起了。

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.

大約在四千年前，古巴比倫舉行了最早記載的新年慶祝活動。那時候的日曆和今時不同，古巴比倫人的新年慶祝活動是在三月末，也就是春分後第一輪新月出現的那段時間。這種集體慶祝儀式被稱作阿基圖慶典，要持續11天。慶典的主題是太陽神馬杜克的重生，但是巴比倫人會在慶典上許諾，以取悅諸神。他們覺得這會幫助他們順利地開始新的一年。

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.

羅馬人延續了新年決心的傳統。當羅馬早期日曆不再與太陽同步時，凱撒大帝決定作出改變。他和當時最傑出的天文學家和數學家討論後，推出了儒略曆，這部日曆更接近我們現在使用的現代日曆。凱撒宣佈（現代日曆中的）1月1日是一年的第一天，以紀念起源神雅努斯。羅馬人用向雅努斯祭祀的方式來慶祝新年。

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，古巴比倫人和羅馬人的傳統依然在世界各地延續。谷歌還在2013年推出了新年決心地圖，人們可以往地圖上添加新年決心，還能實時看到其他人添加新年決心。但是，不論有多少人蔘加了谷歌的這一項目，最終堅持下來的人數量少得可憐；只有8%的人兌現了自己的新年計劃。

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 2018, 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.

如果上面這些夭折的新年決心看起來很熟悉，讓你想起所有失敗的決心，或者激勵你定下自己2018年的新年目標，那麼，請記住這個傳統註定是要世代流傳的。過去四千年的歷史就是這麼傳下來的，這個誰也無法辯駁。