Tag Archives: history

Hello 2022: Interesting New Year’s Eve Traditions

 

2021 was a rough year for most of us, and no one is sad to see it end. We’ve compiled a list of interesting New Year’s Eve traditions about one of the most celebrated holidays of the year!

6 New Year’s Eve Traditions

The first New Year’s celebration dates back 4,000 years. Julius Caesar, the emperor of Rome, was the first to declare January 1st as a national holiday. He named the month after Janus, the Roman god of doors and gates. Janus had two faces looking opposite ways, one looking towards the past and one looking towards the future.

Forty-five percent of Americans make New Year’s resolutions. The top resolutions are: to lose weight, get organized, to spend less and save more, to stay fit and healthy, and to quit smoking. While nearly half of all Americans make resolutions, 25 percent of them will give up by the second week of January.

Eat leafy greens on New Year’s. According to tradition, the more leafy greens a person eats, the more prosperity they will experience. Tradition also says that legumes bring prosperity due to beans and peas resembling coins.

Fun fact: In Spain, people eat 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight. The grapes represent the 12 months of the year.

Many people ring in the New Year’s by popping a bottle of champagne. Americans drink close to 360 million glasses of sparkling wine during the holiday. 

If you have a little too much champagne, AAA offers a Holiday Safe Ride Program.

About 1 million people gather in New York City’s Times Square to watch the ball drop. The Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop came about because of a ban on fireworks. The first ball in 1907 was 700 pounds and was lit with 100 25-watt lights. Today it is covered in 2,688 crystals, is lit by 32,000 LED lights, weighs 11,875 pounds and is 12 feet in diameter.

In a pre-covid world, nearly 1 million spectators would fill Times Square to watch the ball drop. This year, a masked and vaccinated crowd of roughly 15,000 will be in attendance for the annual event.

According to the National Crime Bureau, more vehicles are stolen or broken into than any other holiday. The most popular day for car theft is January 1st. In 2018, 2,571 cars were getting broken in to on the first day of year.

The Hugg & Hall family wishes you a safe and happy New Year!