Has there ever been a more anticipated New Year than 2021? With most of us just about over 2020, it’s time to look toward the new year with renewed hopes of prosperity, and at the very least, a little normalcy. Here we take a look at a bit of history and a few fun facts about our New Year’s Eve celebrations.

“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. He named the month after Janus, the Roman god of doors and gates. Janus had two faces, one looking forward and one looking back. Caesar felt that a month named after this god would be fitting.”

“Long before it was used on New Year's Eve, a ball on top of England's Royal Observatory in Greenwich was dropped at 1 p.m. every day (starting in 1833) to help ship captains coordinate their navigation equipment. Similar balls were set up in coastal areas around the world.”

“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. The current ball puts the old one to shame (thanks to technology). Today, it is covered in 2,688 crystals, is lit by 32,000 LED lights, weighs 11,875 pounds and is 12 feet in diameter.”

“Who needs a ball of lights when you have … a rodent? The town of Brasstown, North Carolina traditionally lowers a possum instead of a giant ball of lights on New Year’s Eve. That tradition is known as “The Possum Drop.” … Yes, a possum.”

“It’s very fitting that the first month of the New Year is named after a god who looks to the future and the past. The month of January is named after the Roman god Janus, who has two faces, one looking forward and one looking backward.”

“New Year’s resolutions usually revolve around breaking bad habits or starting good ones. Roughly 45% of Americans make New Year’s resolutions, and 25% of them break them by mid-January.”

“New Year's Eve ranks fourth on Americans' list of favorite holidays, with 41% of the population calling it their favorite.”

“Be sure to eat leafy greens on New Year's. Tradition says that the more leafy greens a person eats, the more prosperity he or she will experience (what an incentive for staying healthy!). Tradition also says that legumes bring prosperity because beans and peas look like coins. No wonder why so many people eat black eyed peas on Jan. 1.”

Happy New Year from Winn Technology Group!