Why Do We Make New Year's Resolutions

為什么我們會(huì)制定新年計(jì)劃

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.

每當(dāng)新的一年來臨之際，人們都會(huì)決定改變自己。他們會(huì)決心減肥，找到一份新工作，甚至可能會(huì)過一個(gè)討論已久的假期。但我們?yōu)槭裁匆獙?duì)自己定下這些目標(biāo)呢？這個(gè)傳統(tǒng)又從何而來呢？為什么很多人最終都沒能實(shí)現(xiàn)新年目標(biāo)，但這個(gè)傳統(tǒng)依舊延續(xù)呢？我們可以從古巴比倫人開始談起。

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.

有記載的最早的慶祝新年的活動(dòng)是在約4000年前的古巴比倫進(jìn)行的。當(dāng)時(shí)的歷法和如今不同，所以巴比倫人在3月下旬春分后的第一個(gè)新月期間迎來新的一年。集體的慶祝儀式被稱為阿基圖節(jié)，這一節(jié)日會(huì)持續(xù)11天。雖然這一慶?；顒?dòng)是為了紀(jì)念太陽神馬杜克的重生，但巴比倫人為了被眾神庇護(hù)，會(huì)做出承諾，他們覺得這將幫助他們開啟新年的開門紅。

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(xù)了這種做出承諾的做法。當(dāng)早期的羅馬日歷不再與太陽同步時(shí)，凱撒大帝決定做出改變。他請(qǐng)教了當(dāng)時(shí)最好的天文學(xué)家和數(shù)學(xué)家，并引入了儒略歷，它更接近于我們今天使用的現(xiàn)代歷法。凱撒大帝宣布1月1日為新年的第一天，以紀(jì)念善始善終之神雅努斯。羅馬人通過向雅努斯獻(xiàn)祭來慶祝新年。

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 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，古巴比倫人和羅馬人的傳統(tǒng)仍在世界各地延續(xù)，以至于谷歌在2012年推出了一個(gè)“決心地圖”，人們可以添加自己的目標(biāo)，并看到其他人實(shí)時(shí)添加的目標(biāo)。然而，無論有多少人參加了谷歌的項(xiàng)目，當(dāng)涉及到堅(jiān)持實(shí)現(xiàn)目標(biāo)的人數(shù)時(shí)，數(shù)字很慘淡：只有9.2%的人能堅(jiān)持到底。

The most popular resolutions:

最常見的新年目標(biāo)：

Lose weight/eat healthier
? ??

減肥/健康飲食

?

Get organized

有計(jì)劃有條理

?

Save more money

存錢

?

Quit smoking

戒煙

?

Enjoy life

享受生活

?

Spend more quality time with close friends and family members

多花些時(shí)間在親密朋友和家人身上

?

Get—and stay—healthy

變得健康并保持健康

?

Learn something new

學(xué)些新東西

?

Help others pursue their goals

幫助他人追求目標(biāo)

?

Find love

找到真愛

?

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.

如果以上這些失敗的目標(biāo)看起來很熟悉，并且這提醒你立flag注定會(huì)失敗，或者如果它們激勵(lì)你計(jì)劃自己的2020年目標(biāo)，一定要記住這個(gè)傳統(tǒng)注定是會(huì)繼續(xù)下去的。4000年的歷史向我們展現(xiàn)了這一點(diǎn)，而且不容置疑。

翻譯：MS小冰晶