Article: A NEW YOU IN '04? NOT LIKELY.(Holidays)(New Year's resolutions are easier to make than keep)

Byline: Mark Baker The Register-Guard

And to think it all began with borrowed farm equipment.

That's what history tells us. It says the Babylonians - who lived in what is now southeastern Iraq, of all places - started these New Year's resolutions in about 2000 B.C. by resolving to return the farm tools they borrowed to plant new crops at the beginning of spring, which for them was the start of a new year.

So if you're looking for someone to blame when you feel guilty in two weeks for not sticking with your diet, they're long gone. As in thousands of years gone.

Today, New Year's Day, is one of mankind's oldest holidays and a time of ...

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