I hope you had a fabulous Christmas and that New Years Eve was a rewarding experience. As we settle into 2020, I wonder if you have already broken your New Years resolutions, if you decided to make any? According to various sources, the ancient Babylonians were reputed to have been the first people to make New Years resolutions, probably about 4,000 years ago. During a 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. If the Babylonians kept their promises their gods would bestow favour on them for the coming year. If not, they would fall out of the gods favour. These promises could be considered the forerunners of our New Years resolutions, although we dont have the added fear of worrying that we might incur the wrath of ancient gods if we renege on our promises!
Common resolutions in the 21st century include the inevitable gym membership and losing a few or more inches around the waistline. Dry January is also a popular – and relatively recent – phenomenon and seems a sensible thing to do for those who might feel that the bibulous excesses of the Christmas season need to be atoned for in the new year.
For those of us in education, for some, the new year is a time for sitting mock exams (students), marking mocks (teachers) and scrutinising aforementioned mocks (Heads of Departments, members of the Senior Leadership Teams). Despite the fear and misery that such exams may instil into those unfortunate students who have had to spend a portion of the holidays cramming information into their carbed-out brains, the aftermath can be a very worthwhile experience, as they can learn what they did wrong and what they need to do to rectify mistakes before the actual exams.
So, as the third decade of the twenty first century begins, lets look forward to new beginnings and to (trying) to learn from past mistakes. Sláinte Mhath!