Written by Lily Stott
The name January is derived from the latin phrase Ianuarius, or Januarius, named after the Roman God, Janus. Janus was often depicted with two faces; with one looking back into the past and the other looking forwards towards the future-symbolising the transitional space between the past and the potential present. He was also known as ‘the God of all beginnings’, so when the Julian calendar was created in 45 B.C, the first of January was declared the beginning of the new year in his honour. Prior to the Julian reforms, the Romans had an evolving lunar-system-inspired calendar, originally with only ten months. Therefore, when the neoteric month of January was introduced, it was one of celebration, with festivals like the Kalends to celebrate the new possibilities of more life, honoured through offering sacrifices to Janus, allowing slaves to dine with their masters and exchanging small gifts known as sigillaria.
‘Why does this matter?’, you may ask. Well, while the religious sacrality of the new year has been primarily forgotten, the connotations of the first calendar month are much the same in the modern day.
As we enter a new year, we often feel compelled to strive towards self improvement through resolutions and new-found commitment (don’t worry-I’ve been planning my ‘rebrand’ on pinterest too) but have you ever wondered why this is? Why not start the elaborate rebrand on an ordinary Tuesday in September? Psychologists argue this is due to ‘the fresh start effect’-a phenomenon that explains why ‘temporal landmarks’ (such as the beginning of a new year) inspire feelings of opportunity to leave old habits and start over. A fresh day, a fresh month, a fresh year to craft a new identity that pushes you one step closer to your ideal self. Katherine Milkman, the behavioral scientist behind the discovery of this concept, led a study in 2014 (originally published as a part of management science) which focused on the psychological resets that motivate us into pursuing new goals.
Milkman explains that this January motivation is not just abstract optimism-it’s observable behaviour. Reflecting on early findings at Humu, the behavioural science company co-founded by Laszlo Bock, she notes: ‘Most of the time, employees weren’t getting much out of the formal training they were offered at great expense. But there were three exceptions to this rule: new hires, people who were promoted to their first managerial role, and people who were just entering the C-suite. What made those three groups of people particularly willing to pay attention to training and apply what they’d learned to their careers? They were motivated by what we call a fresh start.’ In other words, moments of transition; when an old identity has been fulfilled and a new one is still shapable-creating psychological openness. We listen more closely, try harder and believe, perhaps more so than usual, that change is possible.
January operates in much the same way. It is a socially agreed-upon pause: a collective inhale. The calendar turns, and with it comes permission to draw a line under what no longer serves us. This is why January feels heavier with intention than, say, August or November. It’s not that January itself contains more potential, but that we project meaning onto it—much like the Romans once did. The difference is that today’s sacrifices are less likely to be made to Janus and more likely to be made at the altar of productivity apps, gym memberships, and carefully curated morning routines.
So while January can be the perfect time to embrace our goals and aim towards self-improvement, sometimes societal pressure takes hold and prevents this being sustainable in the long-term, causing us to ‘restart’ in the exact same place twelve months later. As we enter 2026, we should turn back to the two-faced God to remind ourselves that the new year is not only about looking towards the future, but looking back on the past too. Take this month as a moment of transition, prioritise self-reflection and remember your ‘wins’ as well as your mistakes. Rather than forcing rigid routines and unrealistic transformations, January should perhaps be used as a softer reset-one rooted in awareness rather than pressure. Growth is rarely linear and sustainable change comes from understanding where we’ve been, not erasing it. By honouring both faces of Janus, we allow ourselves to move forward without disowning the past, recognising that progress can be quiet, imperfect, and yet still deeply meaningful. In doing so, January becomes less about reinventing who we are and more about realigning with who we’re becoming.
References
https://novelromealone.com/2024/01/05/ianuarius-dedicated-to-the-two-faced-god-janus/
https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/10.1287/mnsc.2014.1901