_New Year's Resolutions aren't something new; in fact, they go back over two thousand years to ancient Rome. And, not only that, did you know that the key figure in ancient Roman New Year's Resolutions was the god Janus, which is where we get the word January. For those of you who don't know, Janus has one head but two faces, one in front and the other in back. Although there are many legends for the two faces, the ancient Romans believed that Janus could look back at the past and ahead to the future at the same time. This ability made Janus the ideal patron for New Year's Resolutions. f you want to know more about this, check out Veglione Capodanno. Going back through history, New Year's Eve was a time for exchanging traditional gifts, such as branches from sacred trees. Other gifts were nuts or coins with the image of Janus imprinted on them. As some of you might recognize, a lot of these customs from Rome and other ancient cultures have been carried down to our time, although with different meanings.The ancient Romans were great for making New Year's Resolutions, but weren't able to decide on exactly when the New Year should take place until Julius Caesar created the Julian calendar. This idea went along quite well until the Middle Ages. It was the Middle Ages that brought forth the Christians, who moved the date of the New Year to certain holy days, first December 25 and then to March 25. At the time, March 25 seemed particularly appropriate as a date to signify newness, as it comes in the spring when new crops are planted and nature begins to bring new life.While December 25 and March 25 seemed appropriate in a Christian sense, both dates created inaccuracies on a solar calendar. In the 16th century, Pope Gregory XIII revised the Julian calendar and returned New Year's Day back to January 1, which brings us back to today.Today, we still use the Gregorian calendar throughout the world. Although some cultures choose not to follow the sun as the basis for their calendar, all societies celebrate the New Year as a great new beginning, and many societies follow traditions of New Year's Resolutions.Through history into the present, New Year's has meant the same for most of us. New Year's Day is a time to put the old year behind us and start out fresh, with a new beginning and a clean slate. There is no better time than to celebrate looking back on the past and creating New Year's Resolutions to guide our future. For more info, visit Veglione Capodanno.



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