December is coming to a close, which means that people around the world are making New Year’s resolutions that they’ll probably forget about by mid-January.
Yes, New Year’s resolutions are notoriously difficult to follow for 365 days, but people still set their best intentions for the year ahead every January 1.
How about we take this to the next level?
Subscribe to our daily newsletter for a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
FYI, the tradition of setting New Year’s resolutions dates back about four millennia, History.com reports. Ancient Babylonians would hold a 12-day religious festival called Akitu every March and would promise to settle the debts to get in their gods’ good graces.
Then, in ancient Rome, Julius Caesar set the month of January — named after the two-faced god Janus — as the first month of the year, History.com adds. Romans of that era, believing that Janus simultaneously looked at the past and the future, promised to behave in the coming year.
And in the 18th century, Methodism founder John Wesley started the practice of spending New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day reading from scripture, singing hymns, and renewing one’s covenant with God.
Nowadays, though, people devote their New Year’s resolutions to physical health, mental health… or the funny goals set by the X users below. And other people, like the X skeptics farther down the page, resolve to not make New Year’s resolutions!
Let’s ring in the new with these resolutions:
Related: