New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve is a celebration held the day before New Year's Day, on December 31, the final day of the Gregorian year.

New Year's Eve is a separate observance from the observance of New Year's Day. In 20th-century Western practice, the celebration involves partying until the moment of the transition of the year, generally at local midnight. Drinking champagne is also a major part of the festivities.

Within many cultures the use of fireworks and other noise making is a major part of the celebration in cities such as Berlin, Edinburgh, Sydney, London, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Toronto, and Tokyo.

New Year's Eve is a public non-working holiday in the following countries, among others: France, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, the Philippines, and Venezuela.

Localized celebrations

Australia

With crowds of well over 1.2 million people, Sydney has arguably the second largest New Year's Eve celebrations worldwide, after Rio de Janeiro (which attracts over 2 million people on Copacabana Beach; New York and London both average crowds between 800,000 and 1,000,000) benefiting from the Harbour City's warm summer weather and spectacular natural amphitheatre. Also because of its proximity to the International Date Line, Sydney is home to the first major celebration to welcome the new year.

Over 80,000 fireworks are traditionally set off from the Sydney Harbour Bridge and four other firing points covering 6 km along Sydney Harbour. The event can be seen from a 16 km radius around Sydney and attracts an average of 300,000 international tourists each year. The Harbour Of Lights Parade adds to the attraction as cruise boats covered in fairy lights cruise the centre of the Harbour all night. These vessels have the prime position for the evening. Sydney has recently been acknowledged by numerous media sources as having the world's best new years eve celebrations topping the list of cities such as New York City, Edinburgh, Paris, and London.

Harbour of Lights^*

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong people usually gather in Central, Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui harbourfront to see the lightworks on the skyscrapers along the harbour and to count down the New Year at spots like Times Square and Ocean Terminal.

United States

In the United States, New Year's Eve is a major social holiday. In the past 100 years the 'ball dropping' on top of One Times Square in New York City, broadcast all of America, is a major component of the celebration. The 1,070-pound, 6-foot-diameter Waterford crystal ball (on the right) located high above Times Square is lowered starting at 23:59:00 and reaches the bottom of its tower at the stroke of midnight (00:00:00) on January 1. It is sometimes referred to as "the big apple" like the city itself; the custom derives from the time signal that used to be given at noon in harbors. From 1982 to 1988, New York City dropped an enlarged apple in recognition of its nickname. Since 1972, Dick Clark has hosted televised coverage of the event called Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve, shown on the ABC network. For about four decades Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians serenaded the United States from the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Park Avenue in New York City. The song Auld Lang Syne has become a popular song to sing at midnight on New Year's Eve.

Local Celebrations

Now, many cities in America have their own local version of the celebration, even while keeping an eye on New York, and the New York-centric aspect of the holiday is diminishing. Many cities, echoing the New York tradition of ball drop, also descend or lower an object (or an enlarged representation of an object), usually one of local significance. There are also examples of things going up. In Seattle the countdown is done by launching fireworks up the side of the Space Needle until it reaches the top at midnight.

New Year's Eve is a major event in Las Vegas, Nevada, where Las Vegas Boulevard is shut down as several hundred thousand people party. In New Orleans, Louisiana, another of the most popular New Year's celebration venues in North America, similar crowds of hundreds of thousands gather in the French Quarter, particularly on Bourbon and Canal Streets, to celebrate the New Year.

Injuries and Deaths Caused by Random Gunfire and Unapproved Fireworks Use

In several areas of the U.S., particularly major urban areas, New Year's Eve celebrations are also punctuated by random celebratory gunfire, causing injuries and deaths.^*^*." target="_blank" > Police departments in many areas, aided by gun safety organizations, have attempted to crack down on this practice through technology^*" target="_blank" >and enhanced penalties^*.

A New Year's Eve tradition in Hawaii and other areas is the uncondoned use of fireworks by local residents. Local governments have begun to severely limit this practice in recent years for numerous reasons, including its effect on people with breathing problems, thrill-seeking but dangerous twists on fireworks use (e.g. hanging fireworks from power lines), and unintended fires. Legislation approved by the Hawaii State Legislature has implemented a system of permits for fireworks use, yet this system is still frequently circumvented by locals.

United Kingdom

England celebrates the New Year by either waiting for Big Ben, or another clock to strike 00:00:00 while enjoying the party, the chimes are normally accompanied by Auld Lang Syne and fireworks. It is also a major celebration in Scotland, where it is known as Hogmanay. The large street parties held in Edinburgh, and George Square of Glasgow are attended by those all over the world, due to the reputation for celebration they have collected.

London's celebrations are the most covered. Since the construction of the London Eye, it has been the centre-point of a huge 10 minute fireworks display each year, illuminated with coloured lasers. At the start of 2005, fireworks were launched from the wheel itself for the first time.

Spain

Spanish New Year's Eve (Nochevieja, or Fin de Año) celebrations usually begin with a family dinner, traditionally including shrimps and lamb or turkey. The actual countdown is primarily followed from the clock on top of the Casa de Correos building in Puerta del Sol square in Madrid. It is traditional to eat 12 grapes, one on each chime of the clock. This tradition has its origins in 1909, when grape growers in Alicante thought of it as a way to cut down on the large production surplus they had had that year. Nowadays, the tradition is followed by almost every Spaniard, and the 12 grapes have become synonymous with the New Year. After the clock has finished striking twelve, people greet each other and toast with sparkling wine such as cava or champagne, or alternatively with cider.

After the family dinner and the grapes, many young people attend New Year parties at pubs, discotheques and similar places (these parties are called cotillones de nochevieja, after the Spanish word cotillón, which refers to party supplies like confetti, party blowers, party hats, etc.). Parties usually last till the next morning and range from small, personal celebrations at local bars to huge parties with guests numbering the thousands at hotel convention rooms. Early next morning, party goers usually gather to have the traditional breakfast of chocolate con churros (hot chocolate and fried pastry).

France

The French call New Year's Eve la Saint-Sylvestre (December 31). It is usually celebrated with a feast that they call le Réveillon de Saint-Sylvestre. This feast customarily includes special dishes and drinks like champagne and foie gras. The celebration can be a simple, intimate dinner with friends and family or a much fancier ball (une soirée dansante).

On le Jour de l'An (New Year's Day, January 1), friends and family exchange New Year's resolutions and sometimes gifts.

The holiday period ends on January 6, Epiphany. On this day, they traditionally enjoy a type of cake which varies depending on where you are in France (view the Epiphany article for more information).

Ecuador

During the celebration of Año Viejo, Ecuadorean citizens burn anthropomorphic figures made of wood, newspapers, and rags, which are then stuffed with fireworks. These figures, known also as Año Viejo, represent symbolically the detritus of the old year and are generally references to noteworthy events during the past year. Many times these include hated political figures, pop-culture references, etc.

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