The History of Famous New Year’s Traditions
January 5, 2018
Bringing in the new year calls for a celebration. But how exactly do we celebrate New Year’s Eve in America? Yes, we do it with balloons, noise makers, and champagne, but we also have a few long-standing traditions that are a big part of many New Year’s Eve festivities. From certain foods that represent good luck, to making resolutions that will help us achieve new goals, the new year is full of great traditions. Let’s jump to the past as we welcome in the future and find out the history behind a few of the more popular New Year traditions.
- The Ball Drop in Times Square
Every year, people from around the country gather together on New Year’s Eve to watch the ball drop in Times Square. Beginning at 11:59 p.m., the crystal-covered ball brings in the next year by slowly descending down a 141 foot pole. The tradition of the ball drop in Times Square started in 1907 by Adolph S. Ochs, a New York Times publisher. After its initial success, it became an annual tradition and grew in popularity. However, Ochs was not the original creator of this idea. In 1833, the first time-ball was used in England where it was put on top of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. There, it would drop at exactly one o’clock p.m. every day to help sailors keep track of the time without having to rely on the sun. Thanks to the English navy and Adolph Ochs’s creativity we have one of the most famous New Year’s Eve traditions.
- The Midnight Kiss
As soon as midnight comes and people begin singing songs and toasting each other, many people find someone to bring in the new year with. The New Year’s kiss is almost as famous as the holiday kiss under the mistletoe, and both have similar origins in Europe. Beginning in ancient Rome, this tradition soon spread to the rest of Europe. Every year, the Romans would throw a big party to celebrate the Festival of Saturnalia in December. This week long celebration was filled with food, wine, and kissing under the mistletoe. Quickly spreading to English and German folklore, the kiss on New Year’s Eve became known as an indicator of whether or not your year would be full of love. As soon as the movie industry took off many years later, Hollywood glorified the midnight kiss through many of its movies, so that now it is a tradition for both Europeans and Americans.
- Resolutions
4,000 years ago, the Babylonians celebrated the beginning of the new year in March as the start of the new planting season. They would make promises to friends, family members, and to the gods such as paying off debts or returning borrowed items. If they kept their promises, they believed the gods would bring them favor, but if they didn’t follow through, the gods would punish them. These promises were the beginning origins of resolutions. Later on after Caesar changed the new year to January 1st, and the Romans would make sacrifices and promises to Janus, whose name inspired the month of January. In 1740, some churches began to hold services on New Year’s Eve to celebrate, and these services included prayer and making resolutions about behavior for the coming year. Today, almost all Americans make resolutions for the new year that they hope to keep and follow through with for the new year.
- Eating Traditional Foods: “Peas for Pennies, Greens for Dollars, & Cornbread for Gold”
Families gather together on New Year’s Day to eat a delicious and symbolic meal for good luck in the upcoming year. Starting mainly in the South in the late 1700s, these foods each hold different meanings. Black eyed peas are one of the more famous dishes, and they symbolize wealth. Since the peas expand when cooked, they represent the growth of one’s money throughout the year. Some say the eating of black eyed peas began in 500 A.D. as part of the Jewish new year, Rosh Hashanah. Others believe that it began during the Civil War when Union troops ransacked a Confederate food supply leaving only black eyed peas and salted pork. The Confederate troops were able to survive the winter because of the leftover food and considered the peas lucky as a result. The next famous food is greens. Whether it’s kale, collard greens, or cabbage, these green vegetables signify money as well due to their green color. For other countries that do not have green currency, the greens represent hope and growth in the new year. Last but not least, cornbread is symbolic for gold and wealth due to its color. The tradition of cornbread was started mainly because it went well with the other foods at meals. Hopefully after eating these foods, your year will be filled with good luck.
- Sing “Auld Lang Syne”
“Auld Lang Syne” is a Scottish song by Robert Burns written in 1788. However it wasn’t published until after his death in 1796. Burns did not write this song completely on his own though. Similar poems and melodies were written beforehand. In 1720, Allan Ramsay wrote a poem beginning with “Should auld acquaintance be forgot,” which is also the starting line of Burns’ song. Later on in 1786, William Shield wrote an opera featuring a melody very similar to the song but with different words. Two year later, Burns wrote “Auld Lang Syne,” and it was published by George Thomson. The song became associated with the Scottish new year, and later it spread to Canada in 1929. Once in Canada it quickly spread to America through the radio and later the television. Now we sing it every year at midnight to remember friends and family in the upcoming year.
Resources:
https://www.timessquarenyc.org/times-square-new-years-eve/nye-history-times-square-ball
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/12/31/kissing-on-new-years-eve/20776377/
http://www.businessinsider.com/why-we-kiss-each-other-on-new-years-eve-2017-12
http://www.history.com/news/the-history-of-new-years-resolutions