New Year's Eve is a celebration held the day before New Year's Day, on December 31, the final day of the year. (See New Year for a discussion of the calendric, religious, and cultural observance of a change of year.) This article is about January 1st in the Gregorian calendar. ... December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... This page deals with the annual event. ...

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. This article is about January 1st in the Gregorian calendar. ... Western can refer to: A Western blot is a method in molecular biology to detect a certain protein in a sample by using antibody specific to that protein. ... Champagne is often drunk as part of a celebration Champagne is a sparkling wine produced by inducing the secondary fermentation of wine. ...

Within many cultures the use of fireworks and other noise making is a major part of the celebration in cities such as Sydney, Paris and London. A fireworks event (fireworks display, fireworks show) is a spectacular display of the effects produced by firework devices on various occasions. ... Sydneys skyline with the Opera House on the left Sydney is the capital city of the Australian state of New South Wales and Australias largest and oldest city, founded in 1788. ... The Eiffel Tower has become the symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Greater London and the Regions of England. ...

New Year's Eve is a public non-working holiday in the following countries, among others: Argentina, Brazil, Germany, the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia and Venezuela. In the United States, a holiday is a day set aside by a nation or culture (in some cases, multiple nations and cultures) typically for celebration but sometimes for some other kind of special culture-wide (or national) observation or activity. ...

Localized celebrations

Australia

A large number of fireworks are usually set off from the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House The Sydney Harbour Bridge is one of the major landmarks of Sydney, Australia, connecting the Sydney Central Business District (CBD) with the North Shore commercial and residential areas, both of which are located on Sydney Harbour. ...

United Kingdom

100,000 people gather for an organised hogmanay street party in Edinburgh, with fireworks being set off from the castle and other major hills around the city. Hogmanay is the Scots word for the celebration of the New Year in the Scottish manner. ... Edinburgh viewed from Arthurs Seat. ... Edinburgh Castle and NorLoch, around 1780 by Alexander Nasmyth Edinburgh Castle, an ancient stronghold on the Castle Rock in the centre of the city of Edinburgh, has been in use by assorted military forces since prehistoric times and only transferred from the Ministry of Defence recently. ...

In London, a fireworks display is held around the London Eye. Greater London and the Regions of England. ... The London Eye is, as of December 2003, the largest observation wheel in the world (though often erroneously called a Ferris wheel). ...

United States

For about four decades Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians would serenade the United States from the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Park Avenue in New York City. Guy Lombardo, photographed by William P. Gottlieb, 1947 Gaetano Alberto Guy Lombardo (June 19, 1902 - November 5, 1977) was a Canadian bandleader and violinist. ... This article is about the hotel. ... Park Avenue in the Upper East Side (2004) Park Avenue (formerly Fourth Avenue) runs north and south between Madison Avenue and Lexington Avenue in Manhattan in New York City, carrying both directions of traffic. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the state of New York and the entire United States. ...

In the United States New Year's Eve is a major social holiday. In the past 100 years the dropping of the 'ball' on top of One Times Square in New York City, broadcast worldwide, is a major component of the celebration. The 1,070-pound, 6-foot-diameter Waterford crystal ball located high above Times Square is lowered starting at 11:59 PM and reaches the bottom of its tower at the stroke of midnight 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 harbours. In the United States, a holiday is a day set aside by a nation or culture (in some cases, multiple nations and cultures) typically for celebration but sometimes for some other kind of special culture-wide (or national) observation or activity. ... Times Square Times Square, named after the one-time headquarters of The New York Times, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, which centers on 42nd Street and Broadway. ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the state of New York and the entire United States. ... Waterford Crystal is the brand name for a type of glassware produced in Waterford, Ireland. ... Times Square Times Square, named after the one-time headquarters of The New York Times, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, which centers on 42nd Street and Broadway. ... Midnight, literally the middle of the night, was a time arbitrarily designated to determine the end of a day and the beginning of the next in some, mainly Western, cultures. ... Noon is the time exactly halfway through the day, written 12:00 in the 24-hour clock and 12:00 pm in the 12-hour clock. ...

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 dropping a ball, also drop or lower an object (or an enlarged representation of an object), usually one of local significance. Some of these include: (see also List of objects dropped on New Year's Eve)

• Atlanta, Georgia - a peach
• Miami, Florida - an orange
• Raleigh, North Carolina - an acorn
• Flagstaff, Arizona - a pine cone
• Key West, Florida - a conch shell, a pirate wench and a red high-heel shoe
• Brasstown, North Carolina - a live opossum in a cage
• Port Clinton, Ohio - a walleye fish
• Cleona, Pennsylvania - a pretzel
• Hummelstown, Pennsylvania - a lollipop
• Liverpool, Pennsylvania - a canal boat
• Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania - a wrench

There are also things going up. In Seattle the countdown is done with an elevator at the Space Needle, with fireworks from the top of the needle at midnight. Downtown Atlanta skyline Atlanta is the capital and largest city of Georgia, a state of the United States of America. ... This article is about the fruit; For alternate uses, see Peach (disambiguation). ... The Miami skyline, as it is seen from the northeast. ... Orange blossoms and oranges on tree For other uses of orange, see orange (disambiguation) The Orange Citrus x sinensis is a Citrus tree, and the fruits of this tree. ... Downtown Raleigh as seen from US 401 on the southwest side. ... ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is the largest community organization of low and moderate-income families in the United States. ... Flagstaff (Navajo Kinłání) is a city located in Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the west of the United States. ... A cone (in formal botanical usage: strobilus, plural strobili) is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta (conifers) that contains the reproductive structures. ... Map of Key West Key West is a city located in Monroe County, Florida. ... A conch shell A Conch is a sea creature, a mollusk, and more specifically, a marine gastropod. ... This article or section should be merged with Virginia_opossum The word opossum (usually pronounced without the leading O, or with only a very slight schwa) refers either to the Virginia Opossum in particular, or more generally to any of the other marsupials of magnorder Ameridelphia. ... Port Clinton is a city located in Ottawa County, Ohio. ... Binomial name Sander vitreus (Mitchill, 1818) A New World relative of the European pikeperch, the walleye or yellow pike (Sander vitreus, formerly Stizostedion vitreum) is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and the northern United States; it is believed to be an introduced species in the mid... Cleona is a borough located in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania. ... A pretzel is a baked snack that is ordinarily twisted into a unique knot-like shape. ... Hummelstown is a borough located in Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. ... A lollipop is a type of confectionery consisting mainly of hardened, flavored sugar mounted on a stick and sucked. ... Liverpool is a borough located in Perry County, Pennsylvania. ... Mechanicsburg is a borough located in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. ... A wrench or spanner is a tool used to turn bolts, nuts or other hard-to-turn items. ... City nickname Emerald City City bird Great Blue Heron City flower Dahlia City mottos The City of Flowers The City of Goodwill City song Seattle, the Peerless City Mayor Greg Nickels County King County Area   - Total   - Land   - Water   - % water 369. ... The Space Needle is the Pacific Northwests most recognizable landmark and is the symbol of Seattle. ...

Watch Night

Many Christians, particularly in the Methodist tradition, gather on New Year's Eve for what are called Watch Night services. During these sometimes three hour long services, hymns are sung and prayers offered in a rededication to God, as participants watch for the new year. John Wesley wrote and adapted services for Watch Night celebrations. The most famous of Wesley's Watch Night resources is certainly what is known as the Wesley Covenant Prayer, an adaptation of a pietist prayer (see The United Methodist Book of Worship, 1992, ISBN 0687035724). The Methodist movement is a group of denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... John Wesley John Wesley was an 18th century preacher and the founder of the Methodist denomination of Protestant Christianity. ... Pietism was a movement, in the Lutheran Church, lasting from the late-17th century to the mid-18th Century. ... The United Methodist Church is the largest Methodist denomination, and the second-largest Protestant one, in the United States. ...

See Also

• Chinese New Year