As you make your plans to ring in 2025, consider partaking in one of the New Year’s Eve traditions from around the world. The past few years have truly been unlike any other, but one thing has been clear: Certain practices are now more important than ever, as they keep us grounded and remind us of the future ahead (and what to look out for, if you’re following any New Year’s superstitions).
Travel isn’t always an option for everyone around this time of year, so we’ve rounded up a few of our favorite New Year’s traditions from cultures all over the globe. Pick one that lends itself to your own celebration, and maybe ask a few friends to join in the fun. Make traditional New Year’s food while you reminisce over the past year, give each other New Year’s gifts, or just start a new tradition and watch some of the best New Year’s movies instead.
May 2025 be a year of good fortune with a generous dose of sanity. Just don’t forget to make those New Year’s resolutions—we need all the good luck we can get. And happy New Year!
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1. United States: Watching the ball drop
Let’s begin our list of New Year’s Eve traditions with the one you’ve likely already participated in: Millions of Americans gather around their television sets (or on the streets of Times Square, despite freezing temps) to watch the ball drop at the stroke of midnight each year. Kicking off in 1907 to ring in January 1908, New York Times owner Adolph Ochs created the countdown event in New York City to draw attention to the Times’s new headquarters, and it’s been an annual spectacle and one of the most popular New Year’s Eve celebrations in America ever since.
