Usher in the New Year M’Lud ?

The month of gluttony is at an end with the festival of alcoholic frenzy and we are all back at our respective workstations fired up for 2020. At which point we wish ALL of our customers past and present a very happy and prosperous New Year. To start 2020 then, some topical information for you.

New Year resolutions are more common in the western hemisphere although they are also in the east and around the world it is to improve something or area of your life. Change an undesirable trait or to improve via a personal goal or something simple like getting a young child to brush their teeth every day. The ancient Babylonians are said to have been the first people to make New Year’s resolutions, some 4,000 years ago. They were also the first to hold recorded celebrations in honor of the new year—though for them the year began not in January but in mid-March, when the crops were planted. During a massive 12-day religious festival known as Akitu, the Babylonians crowned a new king or reaffirmed their loyalty to the reigning king. They also made promises to the gods to pay their debts and return any objects they had borrowed.

The Romans began each year by making promises to the god Janus, for whom the month of January is named. In the medieval era the knights took the “peacock vow” at the end of Christmas each year to re-affirm their commitment to chivalry. This tradition has many religious parallels.

During Judaism’s New Year, Rosh Hashanah, through the High Holidays and culminating in Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), one is to reflect upon one’s wrongdoings over the year and both seek and offer forgiveness.

People can act similarly during the Christian liturgical season of Lent, although the motive behind this holiday is more of sacrifice than of responsibility. In fact, the Methodist practice of New Year’s resolutions came, in part, from the Lenten sacrifices. The concept, regardless of creed, is to reflect upon self improvement annually.

So, as long as we have had religion we have had NY resolutions probably although no one has ever found any hidden under a rock, for those ancients though the New Year started in mid March or for the Greeks after the new moon in January. Which probably explains why some folks drink all year round and not just on the 31st.

So in the spirit of the season our resolution is to continue helping our clients to our best ability and welcome new clients with the same level of service. Have a great 2020 and if you need us just email.