Happy New Year's Eve, everyone! We hope you enjoy a fun, safe evening ringing in 2022! Just like last year, I think everyone is more than ready to begin a new year. Hopefully this one brings us a step closer to some normality after a tumultuous two years.
Here are some fun facts about New Year's Eve to get you pumped up for tonight:
- The very first New Year's Eve was celebrated 4,000 years by the ancient Babylonians.
- Celebrating with friends and family is a tradition because legend has it the first people you see will either give you good or bad luck; make sure you look at someone who likes you!
- The first ball drop in Times Square New York was in 1907. They used the ball, covered in 25 watt bulbs, because of a fireworks ban. Now the ball " weighs 11,875 pounds, is 12 feet in diameter and is adorned with 2,668 Waterford crystals" (International Business Times).
- The classic New Year's song, "Auld Lang Syne" is latin for "times gone by."
- Champagne is the most popular drink of the night. In fact, "Americans drink close to 360 million glasses of sparkling wine during this time. The bubbly stuff dates back to the 17th century, when the cork was invented" (Patch).
- More cars are stolen on New Year's Day than at any other time of the year!
- Some people wear adult diapers in Times Square so that a). they don't lose their spot after having arrived hours early, and b). because of the shortage of nearby bathrooms.
- "Until 2006, the Space Shuttle never flew on New Year’s day or eve because its computers couldn’t handle a year rollover" (Facts). Yikes!
- Back in 1976 on New Year's Day, "a man named Danny Finegood changed the Hollywood sign to “Hollyweed” as a college prank in order to celebrate the decriminalization of marijuana and got an “A” for it. This happened again in 2017!
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In ancient Rome the New Year began on March 1st, so their parties were a little later than ours are today.
Happy New Year, YYC!
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