New Years Fun Facts

New Year's is the time when many people traditionally make resolutions to break bad habits or start good ones. It is a tradition to ring in the New Year with family and friends because the first people you see will give you good luck.

• The first New Year’s celebration dates back 4,000 years. Julius Caesar, the emperor of Rome, was the first to declare Jan. 1 a national holiday
• The early Romans used March 1 as New Year's Day. Other cultures used the autumn equinox or the winter solstice to mark the New Year.
• In 1582, The Gregorian calendar, which marks January 1 as the New Year, is adopted by the Roman Catholic Church.
• January is named after Janus, the god with two faces, one looking forward and one looking backward.
• The top three places to celebrate New Year’s Eve are Las Vegas, Disney World and of course, New York City. 
• Forty-five percent of Americans make New Year’s resolutions. The top resolutions are: to lose weight, get organized, to spend less and save more, to stay fit and healthy, and to quit smoking.
• While nearly half of all Americans make resolutions, 25 percent of them give up on their resolutions by the second week of January.
• 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.
• About 1 million people gather in New York City’s Times Square to watch the ball drop. 
• The Times Square New Year’s Eve ball drop came about because of a ban on fireworks.
• The first ball in 1907 was 700 pounds and was lit with 100 25-watt lights.
• In 2008, a "new" New Year’s Eve ball was introduced. The ball is a geodesic sphere, 12 feet in diameter and weighing 11,875 pounds. It is built to withstand high winds and fluctuating temperatures.
• In 1942 and 1943 the ball lowering was suspended due to the wartime dim out.
• Baby New Year is the symbol most commonly associated with the New Year. Baby New Year is often seen in a diaper, black top hat, and a sash showing the numbers of the New Year. 
• Using a baby to signify the New Year began in ancient Greece around 600 B.C.
• The most commonly sung song for English-speakers on New Year's Eve, "Auld Lang Syne" is an old Scottish song that was first published by the poet Robert Burns in the 1796 edition of the book.
• "Auld Lang Syne" literally translates as "old long since" and means "times gone by."
• Bandleader Guy Lombardo, popularized the song and turned it into a New Year's tradition. Lombardo played the song at midnight at a New Year's Eve party at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City in 1929, and a tradition was born. 
• After that, Lombardo's version of the song was played every New Year's eve from the 1930s until 1976 at the Waldorf Astoria. In the first years it was broadcast on radio, and then on television.
• The birthplace of "Auld Lang Syne" is also the home of Hogmanay (hog-mah-NAY), the rousing Scottish New Year's celebration. The Edinburgh Hogmanay celebration is the largest in the country, and consists of an all-night street party
• In Italy, people wear red underwear on New Year’s Day to bring good luck all year long.
• The New Year is one of the most important holidays in Japan, and is a symbol of renewal. At midnight on Dec. 31, Buddhist temples strike their gongs 108 times, in an effort to expel 108 types of human weakness.
• The Spanish ritual on New Year's Eve is to eat twelve grapes at midnight. The tradition is meant to secure twelve happy months in the coming year.
• The Dutch burn bonfires of Christmas trees on the street and launch fireworks. The fires are meant to purge the old and welcome the new.
• In Greece, New Year's Day is also the Festival of St. Basil, one of the founders of the Greek Orthodox Church. Traditionally, a silver or gold coin is baked inside a cake. Whoever finds the coin in their piece of cake will be especially lucky during the coming year. 
• In Colombia, Cuba and Puerto Rico, some families stuff a large doll, which is called Mr. Old Year, with memories from the past year. They also dress him in clothes from the outgoing year. At midnight, he is set ablaze, thus burning away the bad memories.
• Chinese New Year is celebrated the second full moon after the winter solstice.
• A traditional southern New Year's dish is Hoppin' John—black eyed peas and ham hocks. An old saying goes, "Eat peas on New Year's day to have plenty of everything the rest of the year."
• According to statistics from the National Insurance Crime Bureau, vehicles are stolen on New Year’s Day more than any other holiday. 
• The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California is also a New Year’s Tradition. The Tournament of Roses Parade that precedes the football game on New Year's Day is made up of elaborate and inventive floats. The first parade was held in 1886.