The holiday season is a time of joy and celebration. One of those celebrations is a universal holiday that most people celebrate to close out the year!  You guessed it –New Year’s Eve. We may celebrate New Year’s Day and New Year’s Eve, but we celebrate without knowing why it is a holiday in the first place.

The earliest recorded celebration of New Year’ Eve goes back 4,000 years ago to ancient Babylon. Later on the emperor Julius Caesar decided to alter the Roman Calendar which consisted of 304 days, and introduced the Julian Calendar which is similar to the modern Gregorian calendar which we use nowadays. Since the changes were made to the calendar, Caesar then decided on January first as the first day of the year and the Romans started to celebrate the holiday known as New Year’s. This celebration consisted of offering sacrifices, exchanging gifts, attending parties, and decorating homes.  

As this celebration continued on for thousands of years, different traditions were established. The one that we all commonly know and dominates American television is the iconic giant ball drop in New York City’s Time Square which has taken place ever since 1907. Throughout the years a common belief of New Year’s Day has been established: What a person does on the first day of the year, foreshadows the remainder of the year. This could explain why most spend it with family or friends, so the rest of the year will be spent with loved ones. Everyone has their way of celebrating New Year’s Eve/Day and there are various traditions that many follow. But regardless of how you celebrate, lets bring in the New Year and welcome 2022!