Every year, nearly a million people gather in Times Square to ring in the new year. As the crowd chants along with the clock, the countdown begins.
The clock’s midnight strike signals the start of a brand new year, full of fresh opportunities for many. Confetti rains from the sky as people exchange hugs and kisses. A sense of everlasting joy takes over the square. Fireworks blast from the One Times Square building, welcoming the new year with open arms.
This tradition of watching the ball drop takes place in many places aside from New York. Other states, like Indiana, also hold a ball drop every year on New Year’s Eve. Atlanta, Georgia welcomes the new year with its annual Peach Drop.
In Allentown, Pennsylvania, a replica of the historic Liberty Bell is dropped every New Year’s Eve. During the Revolutionary War, the Liberty Bell was hidden in Allentown to keep it a secret from the British Army to prevent them from using the metal for cannons. The bell’s drop every year pays homage to Allentown’s safeguarding of the national symbol.
A variety of other countries also celebrated the new year in extravagant ways.
Kiribati, located amongst the Line Islands in the Pacific Ocean, was the first country to enter the new year. When the country switched time zones in 1995, it went from being the last country to celebrate New Year, to the first.
Each year, glamorous and traditional celebrations take place in Kiribati on New Year’s Eve. All across the island, feasts and parties are held. Along with common celebrations, such as firework displays, the island also celebrates traditionally, by performing the Kaimatoa, or dance of strength.
In Europe, when Big Ben struck at 12 o’clock, fireworks exploded over the Thames River in London, and a spectacle of lights illuminated the sky. The London Eye presented a brilliant light show and the country celebrated the start of a fresh, new year.
Crowds of people also gathered in the famous Champs-Élysées in Paris. With live music and entertainment, the “world’s most beautiful avenue” was transformed into a communal party. When Disney-esque fireworks shattered the dark skies above the glittering Eiffel Tower on New Year’s Eve, France celebrated the arrival of a very important year, a year that will be personal to France as the 2024 Olympics will be taking place in Paris.
The sound of fireworks also echoed throughout the entire city of Naples, Italy, as did in Germany, with a grandeur of color lighting up the night. As hundreds assembled outside the Colosseum in Rome to countdown to the new year, others celebrated at dinners with friends and families.
Seoul, South Korea welcomed the new year with a spectacular display. Drones created a dragon flying through the sky, reaching towards a glowing “ball of fire.”
Dragons symbolize power, honor, luck, and success, and are very prominent throughout cultures of East Asia. With the new year full of new beginnings, Seoul’s light show introduced 2024 as the year of the dragon.
In the West, islands Baker and Howland were amongst the last places in the world to approach midnight on New Year’s Eve. The dawn of New Year’s Day in these countries marked another full revolution around the Sun for planet Earth and ended this year’s magnificent celebrations.
