The Babylonians are commonly credited with making some of the earliest New Year's resolutions.
Their New Year festival, Akitu, was celebrated in spring rather than on January 1. During the festival, people made promises connected with repaying debts and returning borrowed objects. These commitments were practical social obligations, but they resemble the modern idea of beginning a year with personal goals.
Akitu lasted for several days and was associated with the renewal of kingship and the restoration of cosmic order. Its timing reflected the Babylonian calendar and agricultural cycle, not the later Gregorian calendar used by many countries today.
The claim does not mean the Babylonians invented every modern resolution or that their festival matched today's celebration. Romans are also frequently mentioned because the Roman god Janus became a symbol of looking backward and forward, influencing later New Year symbolism. The Babylonian connection is best stated as a commonly cited early precedent.