为什么一到新年就要下决心？原来这是个悠久传统_BEC初级作文

为什么一到新年就要下决心？原来这是个悠久传统

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.