About the New Year Countdown

This countdown timer calculates the time remaining until 00:00:00 on January 1st of the upcoming year, based on your device's local time.

New Year's Traditions Around the World

The celebration of the New Year is one of the oldest and most universal holidays. However, traditions vary significantly from one culture to another.

• Times Square Ball Drop: In New York City, hundreds of thousands of people gather to watch a giant crystal ball descend in the final minute of the year.
• Twelve Grapes of Luck: In Spain and some Latin American countries, it is a tradition to eat twelve grapes at the stroke of midnight—one for each month—to bring good luck for the year ahead.
• First-Footing: In Scotland and Northern England, the "first-foot" is the first person to cross the threshold of a home in the New Year. Traditionally, a tall, dark-haired male visitor bearing gifts like coal or bread is believed to bring good fortune.

History of New Year's Day

The earliest recorded New Year festivities date back some 4,000 years to ancient Babylon. However, the date wasn't always January 1st. The Romans, for instance, originally celebrated in March. It was Julius Caesar who, in 46 B.C., established January 1st as the start of the new year. This was done to honor Janus, the Roman god of beginnings, whose two faces allowed him to look back into the past and forward into the future.