By Patti Parish-Kaminski, Publisher
Unpredictable disposition. That’s my mantra for 2026. It will keep Mr. Kaminski on his toes.
I have been prayerfully considering this New Year’s Resolutions thing for a couple of weeks now. My people keep asking me about my resolve and my goals for the year. My resolve? It’s as if they don’t know me. I have more resolve than the average Joe. I am the epitome of decisive, firm, a problem solver. So why do I have to come up with a list of things to resolve for 2026? I resolve multiple things on the daily, and now I need an actual list to work off of?
These inquiries got me to thinking, which can truly be a slippery slope. Where did this penchant for spouting resolutions for the new year come from, and why are we all drinking the Kool Aid on this particular inclination?
Turns out the origins of New Year’s Resolutions stem from keeping the favor of pagan gods of the ancient Babylonians some 4,000 years ago. These are the first recorded celebrations of the new year, which happened in March as it coincided with their planting season. During the 12-day celebration, the Babylonians crowned a new king or reaffirmed their loyalty to the reigning king. They resolved to their gods to pay their debts and return borrowed objects from the previous year, and if they stuck to their promises, the Babylonians believed their gods would bestow favor on them for the upcoming year. If they didn’t keep their word – or their resolve – they would fall out of the gods’ favor, which apparently was a really bad thing.
Then Julius Ceasar and the Romans jumped on the bandwagon when the emperor decided that January 1 should be the beginning of the new year around 46 B.C. Ceasar named January for Janus, a two-faced god whose spirit inhabited doorways and arches who looked backwards into the previous year and ahead into the future. Makes you wonder if this particular god couldn’t figure out if he was coming or going. Apparently, the Romans offered sacrifices to Janus making promises of good conduct for the coming year. The sacrifices were cakes, figs, frankincense and rams – not folks, thank goodness. But the Romans truly believed as did the Babylonians that not participating appropriately in the new year ceremonies would result in dire consequences for the coming year.
I think that’s just negative and oppressive, and being a half full kind of girl, I am not here for it. Not to mention the pagan gods. Nope, I’m a child of God, and Jesus lives in my heart. The new year should bring hope, optimism, goal-setting – not an ultimatum of negativity if you don’t subscribe to the hoopla of the resolutions.
I strive to put my best self forward every day. I set daily goals and resolve to check them off. Some days I do better than others, but I always make an effort, and I believe folks appreciate that.
For me, making a list of New Year’s Resolutions is just too predictable, and it tends to set you up for failure. For example, I have resolved to be thin and pleasant for years. It’s just not gonna happen.
Happy New Year porch sitters! See y’all in 2026 – on the porch!
Patti Parish-Kaminski
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