Resolve to Consider Using Etiquette in 2020
For most, January is a month for reflection. A year is behind us, a year is ahead of us, and resolutions are more apt to be made. Surprisingly, as much food and alcohol get consumed over the holidays, taking stock of our lives is not too uncommon. Did we take good care of our health? How about our relationships? What did we do with our finances? Are we in a healthy space professionally? We ask ourselves all these questions, and many more, as a way to help us embark on a different venture at the start of a New Year if necessary. Kind of like taking our bearings before we proceed on our journey.
How did this desire to periodically hit the reset button come about? According to History.com, the ancient Babylonians were the first people to make New Year’s resolutions, some 4,000 years ago. They were also the first to have recorded celebrations in honour of the New Year, which for them began in mid-March when their crops had been planted. During their 12-day religious festival, 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.
A similar practice occurred in ancient Rome after Julius Caesar established January 1 as the beginning of the New Year in around 46B.C in honour of the Roman god Janus. The Romans believed Janus, the two-faced god, symbolically looked back into the previous year and ahead into the future. The Romans offered sacrifices to him and made promises of good conduct for the coming year.
For early Christians, the first day of the New Year became the traditional occasion for thinking about one’s past mistakes and resolving to do and be better in the future.
These historical traditions would set the stage for our New Year’s resolutions. According to Inc.com, about 60 percent of us admitted to making resolutions in 2019. These are some of the most popular resolutions made each year:
Diet or healthy eating
Exercise more
Lose weight
Save more and spend less
Learn a new skill or hobby
Spend more time with family and friends
I must admit, that after scouring the web for the most popular New Year’s resolutions, I was a bit disappointed to realize that resolutions around etiquette or improved manners were hard to find. Is it a stretch to resolve to be more respectful of others at the start of a New Year? How about showing more consideration for those around us? Or simply minding our tone when interacting with family, friends and co-workers. How about being more conscious of how we use shared public spaces?
In 2020, let us strive to be mindful of others, realizing ours is not a solitary journey. We will be a joy to be around, as we pursue the resolutions we have made. Maybe this could lay a foundation for etiquette, if not to take centre stage in our future New Year’s resolutions, then perhaps a supporting role. This can’t be a bad idea, can it?
