History
fromKqed
2 days agoWhy Do We Make New Year's Resolutions?
New Year's resolutions originated with ancient Roman Jan. 1 rituals and evolved over centuries into modern American secular holiday practices by the 20th century.
When I was a kid, living in Lawrenceville, Virginia, I heard tales about how the James River was haunted: perhaps by the spirits of Indigenous people who were forced off this land, or maybe by those who gave their lives to revolution, or maybe by enslaved men, women, and children who drowned while trying to escape their plantations. The ghost stories seemed to suit a river that's connected to America's soul.