Origins History and Traditions of New Year's Eve
First and Last Day of the Year Observances, Customs, Celebrations
New Year's is by far this country's most venerable holiday, far more so than Christmas, and it's traditions are ancient. So forget about Times Square, glowing orbs, confetti, Dom, and kissing – well, maybe not the kissing - and put on your spring clothes.
Ancient New Year's Celebrations
The first written account (guessed to be around 2000 BC) of a New Year's observance came from the Babylonians as they welcomed it in with first new moon of the Vernal Equinox (first day of spring). For thousands of years this venerable observance was a springtime affair, but time inevitably marched on and soon the bullish Romans came to power. In 153 BC the Roman Senate declared a brand-new super-official much earlier beginning of year, and although it really had no astronomical or agricultural significance the date was nevertheless essentially written in stone in 46 BC with the advent of the Julian calendar.
Written in stone, that is, until one considers the confusion and general societal and intellectual degradation that is collectively known as the Dark Ages of medieval Europe. During such dismal and fractious times, when nothing more than a cross look could get you a sword in the back, New Year's celebrations were, as a whole, considered pagan and entirely unchristian-like. At times the holiday was banned entirely, while at other times it was celebrated randomly on Dec. 25 (the birth of Jesus), March 1, March 25 (the Feast of the Annunciation), and on Easter.
The 1582 Gregorian Calendar Reform attempted to restore some sanity to the New Year's holiday by re-proclaiming January 1st as the official day of observation, but protestant countries were less than lukewarm to the idea. And the British, for example, did not adopt the reform until 1752, and celebrated the date, along with her New World colonies, in the more traditional and springy March. So it is a bit of a wonder that the holiday is celebrated at all in America, at least as we now know it.
Auld Lang Syne
Nevertheless, the pieces fell into place as they did and New Year's has now become both a showy and nostalgic remembrance of times past. This sentiment is usually accompanied by personal resolutions for betterment and the consumption of copious amounts of alcohol – not necessarily in that order. Then everyone goes to bed and wakes up the next morning trying to remember what is was that they did the night before.
Aside from this last part, the sentimental and melancholy contemplation that accompanies the holiday is most likely inherited from an old Scottish folk phrase - Auld Lang Syne (time since past). The Scottish poet Robert Burns is usually given credit for coinage here, but many historic accounts claim he borrowed the words from popular old Scottish lure. There is a deep esteem of heritage in the phrase and the palpable sentiment that tradition and remembrance is of paramount importance.
But there is an optimism and forward-looking propulsion to New Year's as well. There is an energy and light that comes from establishing a notional line where one year stops and another begins; a sense of finality and accomplishment arises at the thought that for the slightest of seconds time the world over is somehow paused or at least slowed down for our reflection. Then, as the clock strikes midnight, the world moves forward with an enlightenment and anticipation that can only be achieved by appropriate reflection and understanding.
Times Square New Year's Eve Ball Drop
This experience was first personified on a grand scale by the The New York Times owner, Alfred Ochs, who produced an illuminated seven-hundred-pound iron and wood ball to be lowered from the Times Tower flagpole precisely at midnight to signal the end of 1907 and the beginning of 1908.
The event propelled the Times Square festivities to the forefront of the world's attention, and quickly assumed the collective role of symbolically welcoming in the New Year. Today, the Ball is primarily Waterford Crystal and illuminated by upward of around 30,000 Philips light emitting diodes and an estimated 1 million people are drawn to the glowing gala and accompanying celebratory activities. Cities like Rio de Janeiro and Sydney have followed New York's lead in the glitz and glamor department and also claim to draw millions per year with their huge New Year's Eve fireworks displays.
But New York does not corner the market on ways to celebrate. There are many other unique ways to welcome in the holiday, like the Coney Island Polar Bear Club in New York, which proudly boasts that it has been sending folks into the icy surf since 1903. And slightly less traumatic but no less strange is the annual Atlanta Peach Drop, where an 800-pound peach – yes peach – begins its slow decent as on-lookers count down to midnight.
However you celebrate, as we consider both the past and future, it becomes no surprise that the Romans placed New Year's on the first day of the month that they named after their “two-faced” god, Janus. Perhaps best echoing the haunting sentiment of the holiday Charles Lamb put it this way: “New Year's Day is every man's birthday.”
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