New Year's Eve Fun Facts and Trivia

New Year’s Eve is observed around the world on December 31. Partygoers and revelers celebrate with midnight kisses, champagne toasts and rousing renditions of Auld Lang Syne. Read up on these fun facts and trivia to round out your New Year’s Eve celebrations.

Everyone knows about the New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square. Discover more about this and other traditions with our list of New Year’s Eve fun facts.

1. Kissing your significant other is a favorite New Year’s Eve tradition meant to guarantee a good relationship and affections throughout the next year.

2. Las Vegas, Disneyworld and New York City are billed as three of the top New Year’s Eve destinations.

3. About 75% of American New Year’s Eve parties involve 20 people or less.

4. The tradition of a ball drop to signal the passage of time began at England’s Royal Observatory at Greenwich in 1833.

5. Dick Clark has not appeared on Dick Clark’s Rockin New Year’s Eve special since 2003.

6. The primetime New Year’s Eve show has entertained Americans since Clark began it in 1973 with the exception of New Year’s Eve 1999. That year, coverage of the millennium was broadcast throughout the country in a special titled, ABC 2000 Today. Clark did countdown the seconds to midnight as the East Coast welcomed the New Year.

7. Made of iron and wood and adorned with one hundred 25-watt light bulbs, the first New Year’s Eve ball was 5 feet in diameter and weighed 700 pounds.

8. Introduced on November 11, 2008, a new Times Square New Year’s Eve ball weighs 11, 875 pounds. The 12-foot geodesic sphere is covered in 2,668 Waterford crystals.

9. Eating for good luck is a popular tradition in cultures around the world. Try 12 grapes at midnight (Spain), donuts (Holland) or black-eyed peas (American South).

10. The popular New Year’s song, Auld Lang Syne, translates to “old long ago.” Here, the first verse and chorus is translated into modern English courtesy of the website, Rampant Scotland.

“Should old acquaintances be forgotten
and never be remembered?
Should old acquaintances be forgotten
and days long ago”.

Chorus

“For days long ago, my dear,

for days long ago

we’ll drink a cup of kindness yet

for days long ago!”

And surely you’ll have your pint tankard

And surely I’ll have mine.

For the Best New Year’s Eve Detroit Parties visit http://www.NYEdetroit.com or call 248.543.1000