When I was a kid, staying up until midnight on New Year’s Eve was a cherished goal. At first my parents said I was too young even to make the attempt. In my later tween years, I made a couple of runs at it and almost made it. My Mom and I – Dad thought staying up until midnight was foolishness – saw the ball drop in Times Square in New York City and heard Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians play Auld Lang Syne live from the ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Guy passed away in 1977 and the Waldorf Astoria recently was converted into luxury apartments. Still, 11pm isn’t midnight and I labored on fighting sleep to reach that milestone. Eventually I did it and found that my Dad was right, staying up until midnight is foolishness.

The earliest recorded celebrations of the new year date back to ancient Babylon 4,000 years ago. For those folks the new year started in March with the vernal equinox, the day in the spring when the hours of day and night are roughly equal. In Rome, prior to the time of Julius Caesar, their new year began with the vernal equinox as well. Under that Roman calendar their year was ten months and 304 days long. Obviously, things got out of kilter in a relatively short time. Consequently, the months of Januarius and Febuarius were added to try and get the calendar to match the length of the seasons. When Julius Caesar took power, he decided to reform the calendar even further adopting a system similar to what we use today. Under the Julian calendar the new year began on January first. His rationale was to honor Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, whose two faces allowed him to look forward and back which is remarkably similar to what many of us do at the dawn of a new year.

There are several traditions that surround the celebration of the new year. Spain and many other Spanish speaking countries eat grapes in the run up to midnight, each grape symbolizing a hope to come to fruition in the new year. In many parts of the world legumes are consumed because they represent coins and are supposed to bring financial success for the coming year. In Italy lentils are eaten for this purpose and in the American South they eat peas for the same reason.

In many cultures pigs represent prosperity and progress. As a result, pork is a New Year’s Eve dish in such diverse places as Cuba, Austria, Hungary, Portugal as well as in other countries. In Sweden and Norway rice pudding is a New Year’s Eve delicacy. One portion has an almond hidden in it and the person who finds that is said to have good fortune all throughout the coming year.

In the United States, the most iconic representation of the New Year is the dropping of the ball in Times Square in New York City. People wait on the street for eight to ten hours in order to secure a good spot to see the ball drop in person. This tradition goes back to 1907. The ball grew over time from a iron reinforced wooden version weighing in at seven-hundred pounds to today, when the ball weighs 12,000 pounds and is twelve feet in diameter.

WalletHub compared the 100 biggest cities in the United States on 29 metrics in three key areas (Entertainment and Food, Costs, Safety & Accessibility) to determine the top ten best places to celebrate New Year’s Eve:

10. Seattle, Washington
9. Los Angeles, California
8. Chicago, Illinois
7. Washington, D.C.
6. Denver, Colorado
5. Atlanta, Georgia
4. San Francisco, California
3. Las Vegas, Nevada
2. Orlando, Florida
1. New York City, New York

One of the traditions of New Year’s Eve is making a resolution or two or three. According to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, 46% of people who make a resolution are successful in achieving it. Only 4% of people who don’t formally resolve something achieve their new year’s goal(s). Over the years these have been the most popular New Year’s Resolutions:

10. Read More
9. Travel More
8. Spend more time with family and friends
7. Quit smoking
6. Spend less/save more money
5. Live life to the fullest
4. Learn a new hobby
3. Get organized
2. Lose weight
1. Exercise more

Experts say if you want to be successful in keeping your resolution you should do the following things:
1) Mentally prepare for change
2) Set a goal that motivates you
3) Limit the total number of resolutions you desire to achieve
4) Be specific
5) Break your overall goal into smaller more achievable, step by step goals
6) Write down your goals
7) Share your resolution with another who will check in and hold you accountable
8) Review your resolution regularly
9) Reward yourself for the goals/steps you have achieved

I don’t resolve anything anymore for two reasons. First, I’m basically happy with my life choices and second, I know from past experience that I won’t follow through. Studies have shown that most people give up on their resolution(s) by the end of February. I also don’t stay up until midnight. I don’t see the point. I do celebrate the New Year, but I do it by London, England time. That’s 6pm Central Time. Whenever, however, wherever you celebrate I wish you a Happy New Year!