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REAL DEALS HERE -- WIN BIG WITH THOUSANDS IN PRIZES + RackNerd's NEW YEAR OFFERS! (New Year 2024)
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NEW YEAR FACTS
Though the parties raged on, there wasn't a ball drop until 1907.
Fireworks were previously used to welcome the new year, but they were banned because burning embers were falling on the crowd. A ball being lowered on a flagpole was a safer bet.
NEW YEAR FACTS
It's been a spectacle every year since, except for during World War II.
Wartime restrictions put the tradition on pause in 1942 and 1943. Times Square revelers observed a moment of silence at midnight instead.
NEW YEAR FACTS
The Times Square ball's weight has yo-yoed.
The original ball was made from 700 pounds of iron and wood. It was later reduced to just 400 pounds of wrought iron before they switched to an aluminum frame in 1955. The now 11,875 pound ball didn't get its new look (and materials) until the millenium when Waterford partnered with Philips Lighting to create a shimmery LED display.
NEW YEAR FACTS
Waterford comes up with a new ball pattern every year.
The sphere is made up of 2,688 crystal triangles and has over 32,000 lights. It also displays over 16 million color patterns.
NEW YEAR FACTS
Instead of a ball, Miami, Florida rings in the new year with an orange.
The raising of Mr. Neon, the 35-foot, sunglass-clad metal fruit, has been a tradition for over 30 years.
NEW YEAR FACTS
Hershey, PA drops a giant Kiss to ring in the new year.
Other Pennsylvania towns have traditions that play off their names. In Mechanicsburg, they drop a wrench. In Dillsburg, they drop a pickle.
NEW YEAR FACTS
Americans drink around 360 million glasses of sparkling wine on New Year's.
Corks can fly out of the bottle at a speed of 25 miles per hour, so it's best to open bottles at a 45-degree angle (away from yourself and others).
NEW YEAR FACTS
The New Year's kiss started with the Romans.
Although things got a little friskier back then, ancient Romans are credited with the kissing tradition because of their Saturnalia festival. It was a celebration honoring Saturn, the god of time, where all social norms went out the window. Many of the celebrations influenced the Christmas and New Year's festivities that became the focus when Christianity took over the Roman Empire.
NEW YEAR FACTS
The island nation Kiribati rings in the new year first.
Kiribati, also known as Christmas Island, is located in the Central Pacific. They celebrate throughout the nation at each village's maneaba or meeting house, where all social and political activity takes place.
anyone have big new years plans???
NEW YEAR FACTS
American Samoa is one of the last places to ring in the new year.
American Samoa is actually the second to last place to celebrate the new year behind Baker and Howland Island, which are both uninhabited. Some tourists take advantage of the time difference by flying from Samoa to American Samoa to celebrate twice.
NEW YEAR FACTS
New Year's is terrifying for children in Akita, Japan.
There's a local tradition called Namahage where grown men dress up like demons to scare children into behaving for their parents. They go from house to house yelling things like "Are there any crybabies at home?" or "Are naughty kids around?"
NEW YEAR FACTS
If you live in Italy, wearing red underwear is considered lucky.
Wearing red underwear on New Year's will supposedly bring good fortune in the coming year. It's also considered the color of fertility so for those hoping to conceive, it's considered double lucky.
NEW YEAR FACTS
Grapes are also supposedly lucky.
Spanish households carry on the tradition of scarfing down 12 grapes in the first 12 seconds of the new year. The grapes represent each month of the year. Rumor has it that this whole thing started as a marketing tactic for winemakers looking to sell more grapes in the winter.
NEW YEAR FACTS
Pork and black-eyed peas are also good.
The fattiness of pork symbolizes wealth and the peas are believed to bring good fortune because they swell when cooked which is why they're both popular foods to eat on New Year's Eve.
NEW YEAR FACTS
Stay away from lobster and chicken.
Lobster and chicken are both considered bad luck foods. According to superstition, if because of a lobster's ability to move backward and a chicken's ability to scratch itself backwards, if you eat either on New Year's, you won't be able to move forward. So, bring on the bacon!
NEW YEAR FACTS
Round or ring-shaped foods hold special meaning.
Incorporating a round food into your New Year's meal symbolizes that the year has come full circle. Hello, donuts and bagels.
NEW YEAR FACTS
Ancient Babylonians celebrated New Year's in March.
The new year used to coincide with the arrival of spring. A 12-day festival called Akitu marked the occasion, which was more about praying than it was about finding a midnight kiss.
NEW YEAR FACTS
Ethiopia rings in the new year on September 11.
Their calendar began in the eighth year of the common era (when our year counting started). This solar calendar derived from the Egyptians consists of 13 months.
NEW YEAR FACTS
The French invented a new calendar during the revolution.
The French Republican Calendar was used during the revolution and for 12 years after to reflect the country's "new age of liberty." It was designed using a decimal system and was also briefly resurrected during the Paris Commune in 1871.
Nope, It's too crazy on New Years where I am at.
I have an inferiority complex, but it’s not a very good one.
I told my doctor that I broke my arm in two places. He told me to stop going to those places.
I was wondering why the baseball kept getting bigger and bigger, and then it hit me.
My teachers told me I’d never amount to much because I procrastinate. I told them, “Just you wait!”
Why do seagulls fly over the sea? If they flew over the bay, they would be bagels.
I ordered a chicken and an egg from Amazon. I’ll let you know which comes first.
What do you call a magician who lost his magic? Ian.
I broke my finger last week. On the other hand, I am OK.
I went to the doctor with a suspicious-looking mole. He told me they all look that way and I should have left it in the garden.