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Shauna Shepler
Resolutions and other New Year's traditions from around the globe
By Shauna Shepler
Dec 31, 2007, 11:21

By Shauna Shepler

New Year's has always been a time for reflecting on the past while looking forward to the future. It's a time to assess what changes we want, or need, to make in our lives, and to resolve to follow through on making those changes.

Making New Year's resolutions is an ancient tradition that dates back to 153 B.C. The Romans named the first month of the year, January, after Janus, the god of beginnings and the guardian of doors and entrances. He was always depicted as having two faces, one on the front of his head and one on the back, thus, allowing him to look backward and forward at the same time. The Romans said that at midnight on New Year's Eve, Janus could be seen looking back on past events and forward to future events with his two faces. Thus, he became the symbol of resolutions. Before the beginning of the new year, many Romans sought forgiveness from their enemies and exchanged gifts of branches from sacred trees, or nuts and coins imprinted with Janus' likeness on them.

Making resolutions isn't the only tradition. Here in the U.S., the kiss shared at the stroke of midnight is derived from masked balls that have been held throughout history. The masks symbolize demons from the previous year, and the kiss is a way of purifying people from them before the New Year begins.

People around the world ring in the New Year in their own special way. Here are just a few of those traditions:

Austrians celebrate the New Year by serving a suckling pig on a table decorated with tiny edible pigs. The suckling pig symbolizes good luck. For dessert, green peppermint ice cream in the shape of a four-leaf clover is served.

In England and Wales, the British give their fortunes for the New Year to their first male guest. The guest is expected to bring gifts of coal for a fire, a loaf of bread for dinner, and a drink for his host. Uninvited guests, or those who arrive empty-handed are the last to enter the host's house. For good luck, the guest enters through the front door and leaves through the back. At the first toll of midnight, the back door is opened and then shut to release and lock out the previous year and all its bad luck. At the 12th toll, the front door is opened and the New Year and all of its good luck is welcomed in.

According to Sicilian tradition, eating lasagna on New Year's Day brings good luck, but eating macaroni or any other noodle brings bad luck.

At midnight in Spain, the Spanish ring in the New Year by eating 12 grapes, one for every toll of the clock. Each grape represents good luck for the 12 months ahead. Peruvians have a similar tradition, except they eat a 13th grape for good luck.

In Greece, a special New Year's bread is baked with a coin buried in the dough. The first slice is for the Christ child, the second is for the head of the household, and the third is for the house. If the third slice has the coin in it, spring will come early that year.

The Japanese decorate their homes in tribute to lucky gods. In one tradition, called kadomatsu, pine branches symbolize longevity, bamboo stalks symbolize prosperity, and plum blossoms symbolize nobility.

The Chinese decorate their front doors with red paint, symbolizing good luck and happiness. Then, the whole family prepares a New Year's feast; but all knives used are put away for 24 hours to keep anyone from cutting themselves, which is believed to "cut" the whole family's good luck in the next year.
 
Norwegians make rice pudding for New Year's and hide one whole almond in it. The person whose pudding holds the lucky almond is guaranteed to have wealth in the next year. 

As in ancient Rome, the New Year's resolutions we make today are meant to guide us in a positive direction toward the future. They arise from our attempts to answer some of life's biggest questions, like, "Why am I here?," "Where am I going?," and, "Isn't there more to life?". But, in our quest for answers, we often end up forming resolutions in haste, usually with little or no forethought. And the quickest resolutions to be broken are the quickly formed, poorly thought out ones. These are the top-10 most popular New Year's resolutions:

   1. Spend more time with family and friends
   2. Exercise more
   3. Lose weight
   4. Quit smoking
   5. Enjoy life more
   6. Quit drinking
   7. Get out of debt
   8. Learn something new
   9. Help others
  10. Get organized

To make resolutions that will actually stick this year, follow these tips:

1. Evaluate your life once or twice a year, not constantly.
While, as human beings, it's perfectly healthy and natural to wonder where our lives are going, doing so constantly only leads to directionless despair, not resolution. So, take the pressure off yourself!

2. Set a few small goals at one time, not a big bunch.
George Miller, a 1950's psychologist, once said people can only handle seven bits of information at any given time. Any more than that, and they would have to group it into more manageable chunks. So, make only a few resolutions at once, or place similar ones in groups.

3. Be as specific as possible.
A common mistake people make when setting goals is that they aren't specific enough, which causes problems when it comes time to articulate them to others or ourselves. So, be sure to write your goals in enough detail for everyone to understand.

4. Be realistic.
You'll be more likely to achieve your goals if they are realistic. But that's not to say you can't dream big; just break up big goals into smaller, more manageable ones, and you'll be more likely to achieve them.

Sources: Blair, Gary Ryan. "The History of New Year's Resolutions." www.ezinearticles.com.
Powell, Albrecht and Kimberly. "Top 10 New Year's Resolutions." www.pittsburgh.about.com.
Swinton, Lyndsay. "How to Keep New Year's Resolutions: 5 Goal-Setting Tips." www.mftrou.com