123 Fun Facts About New Year's

In which year did the first Times Square ball drop take place, on 31 December, after the city banned the Times' fireworks?

1907, on the New Year's Eve welcoming 1908, after the city banned the rooftop fireworks the Times had staged since 1904. The first ball was iron and wood and weighed 700 pounds.

How much does the Waterford Crystal Times Square ball unveiled in 2008 weigh?

The 12-foot Waterford Crystal ball unveiled for 2008-09 weighs 11,875 pounds (about 5,386 kg) and is covered with 2,688 crystal triangles.

In which two years did wartime 'dimout' rules mean the Times Square ball did not drop?

Crowds still packed Times Square in 1942 and 1943, but marked midnight with a moment of silence and chimes from sound trucks instead of a lit ball.

Approximately how many people gather in Times Square each year for the New Year's Eve celebration?

Approximately 1 million people crowd into Times Square each New Year's Eve, with an estimated 1 billion more watching on television worldwide.

Which TV host created 'New Year's Rockin' Eve' in 1972 and fronted it until his death in 2012?

Dick Clark created the special in 1972; after a 2004 stroke he handed main hosting to Ryan Seacrest but kept the midnight countdown himself until his death in April 2012.

Who wrote down 'Auld Lang Syne' in 1788, insisting he had only transcribed it from an old man's singing?

Robert Burns sent 'Auld Lang Syne' to the Scots Musical Museum in 1788, claiming he had taken it down from an old man's singing, though the words are largely his own.

What does 'Auld Lang Syne' roughly translate to in English?

'Auld Lang Syne' is Scots language and translates roughly to 'old long since' or 'times long past.' The song is about remembering old friends and the experiences shared with them.

Which bandleader's annual CBS broadcast helped make 'Auld Lang Syne' a New Year's tradition?

Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadians played 'Auld Lang Syne' at midnight in annual New Year's Eve broadcasts from 1929, on CBS television from 1956 until 1976.

What do Spaniards eat at midnight on New Year's Eve, one for each of the twelve chimes of the clock?

Twelve grapes, one per chime, for twelve lucky months; Spaniards gather round the television for the midnight chimes, and those who finish all twelve in time are promised a lucky year.

What did young Danes traditionally hurl against neighbours' doors on New Year's Eve?

Old crockery: Danes saved chipped plates and smashed them against friends' doors to scare off evil spirits, and a big heap of shards on your step meant you had many friends.

What colour do Brazilians traditionally wear on New Year's Eve for peace and good luck?

Brazilians traditionally wear white clothing and white underwear on New Year's Eve to bring peace and good luck in the new year. Some also wear other colors for specific wishes: yellow for money, red for love, and green for health.

What do the Scots call New Year's Eve, the occasion for an Edinburgh street party that is one of the world's biggest?

Hogmanay, and Scotland takes it seriously enough that 2 January is a bank holiday there too, to recover; the first visitor after midnight, the 'first-footer', is supposed to set the household's luck for the year.

What do people in the Philippines traditionally display on New Year's Eve to attract prosperity?

Filipinos display 12 round fruits on their table at midnight — one for each month of the year. Round shapes symbolize coins and prosperity. Many also wear polka dots for the same reason.

In Japan, Buddhist temples ring their bells how many times on New Year's Eve?

The 108 strokes of joya no kane stand for the 108 earthly desires of Buddhist teaching; many temples ring 107 before midnight and save the last for the new year.

What do Latin American families set alight in the street at midnight on New Year's Eve?

Life-size effigies called 'Año Viejo' dolls, stuffed with paper, old clothes and firecrackers, are burned at midnight in Ecuador and Colombia, often made to resemble a despised politician from the departing year.

In which country is it traditional to eat soba noodles on New Year's Eve for longevity?

In Japan, eating 'toshikoshi soba' (year-crossing noodles) on New Year's Eve is a widespread tradition. The long noodles symbolize longevity and are also easy to bite through, representing a clean break from the old year's troubles.

What do residents of Johannesburg's Hillbrow throw out of windows on New Year's Eve?

Old furniture and appliances: the Hillbrow custom dates from the 1990s, and falling fridges and televisions have injured passers-by, so police saturate the district every 31 December.

Colombians hoping for a year full of travel do what at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve?

Run around the block with an empty suitcase, the faster the better. Yellow underwear for luck, twelve grapes for twelve wishes and a lentil in the pocket for prosperity round out the Colombian midnight checklist.

How many animals are in the Chinese zodiac cycle?

There are 12 animals in the Chinese zodiac, rotating in a fixed cycle: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. Each year is associated with one animal.

What color is considered the luckiest during Chinese New Year celebrations?

Legend says the beast Nian feared the colour and loud noises, which is why doors get red paper-cuts and the streets get firecrackers.

What are the red envelopes given during Chinese New Year called?

Hóng bāo (红包) are red envelopes containing money, traditionally given by married couples and elders to children and unmarried adults during Chinese New Year. The red color symbolizes good luck and is believed to ward off evil spirits.

How long does the Chinese New Year festival traditionally last?

Chinese New Year celebrations traditionally last 15 days, beginning on the first day of the lunar new year and ending with the Lantern Festival on the 15th day. Each day has its own traditions and customs.

Which food symbolises wealth at Chinese New Year because its shape resembles a sycee, or gold ingot?

Dumplings (jiaozi) are folded to resemble gold ingots; in Northern China they are eaten at midnight, and some families hide a coin inside for a year of fortune. Fish is eaten for a different pun: 'yú' sounds like 'surplus'.

What mythical creature are the lion and dragon dances during Chinese New Year meant to scare away?

According to legend, Nian was a fearsome beast that would emerge at the start of each new year to attack villagers. The loud drums, firecrackers, and lion/dragon dances are all meant to scare Nian away, since it feared loud noises and the color red.

Which Roman leader's calendar reform of 46 BC introduced the 365-day year with leap days?

Julius Caesar's reform stretched 46 BC to 445 days, the 'year of confusion', to reset the drift, then fixed a 365-day year with one leap day every fourth year.

Which Roman god is the month of January named after?

Janus, whose two faces look back at the old year and ahead to the new, and whose name also gives us 'janitor', originally a doorkeeper. June is named for Juno and March for Mars.

In medieval England the civil new year began on 'Lady Day'. Which date is that?

Lady Day is the Feast of the Annunciation; England kept it as the legal start of the year until it adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1752, which is why the British tax year still starts in early April.

The Gregorian calendar, which is used worldwide today, was introduced by which Pope?

Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian calendar in October 1582 via the papal bull 'Inter gravissimas.' It corrected the drift in the Julian calendar by adjusting leap year rules, and most Catholic countries adopted it immediately.

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, typically falls in which months of the Gregorian calendar?

Rosh Hashanah occurs on the first two days of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, which typically corresponds to September or October in the Gregorian calendar. It marks the beginning of the Jewish High Holy Days.

Nowruz, the Persian New Year, coincides with which astronomical event?

Nowruz falls on the spring (vernal) equinox, typically around March 20-21. It has been celebrated for over 3,000 years and is observed by more than 300 million people across Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Caucasus.

Enkutatash, the Ethiopian New Year, falls in which month of the Gregorian calendar?

It lands on 11 September (12 September before a leap year) as the rains end; because the Ethiopian calendar runs seven to eight years behind, the country greeted 2009 while the rest of the world was in 2016.

Which Benedictine monk is popularly credited with pioneering Champagne at Hautvillers abbey?

Dom Pérignon (1638-1715) was cellar master at the Benedictine abbey of Hautvillers; he refined blending and bottling, and Moët & Chandon launched its prestige cuvée bearing his name in 1936.

The first Times Square New Year's ball, lowered in 1907, was lit by roughly how many light bulbs?

About 100 bulbs of 25 watts each lit the 700-pound iron-and-wood original; a lighter all-iron ball replaced it in 1920, and later versions moved to aluminium and then Waterford crystal with LEDs.

Which drink does the Scottish first-foot traditionally carry over the threshold?

Whisky, for good cheer; the other classic first-foot gifts are coal for warmth, a silver coin for prosperity, salt for flavour and shortbread for food.

Dubai's record-setting LED New Year's Eve show is staged on which building?

Burj Khalifa: for 2017-18 Dubai dropped fireworks in favour of a light-and-sound show on the tower, which set a Guinness record for the largest such show on a single building.

Which date did Tokelau skip entirely in 2011 when it jumped across the date line to match New Zealand?

Samoa made the same 24-hour leap on the same night, erasing 30 December 2011 for both so their business weeks would line up with Australia and New Zealand.

Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks, among the world's most watched, are centred on which landmark, with barges and rooftops firing in support?

Sydney Harbour Bridge, which is lit up in its own right, the 'bridge effect', and for years carried a giant symbol on its trusses for each year's theme. Sydney's midnight comes eleven hours before London's.

In which country do people traditionally jump off a chair as the clock strikes midnight on New Year's Eve?

Denmark: Danes leap off chairs into the new year at midnight, having watched the Copenhagen Town Hall clock strike twelve on television, and finish with kransekage, a tower of almond-ring cake.

What is the Japanese name for the year's first shrine or temple visit?

Hatsumode is the first shrine or temple visit of the new year, made in the opening days of January; Tokyo's Meiji Shrine alone draws about three million visitors over the first three days.

Which fitness platform coined 'Quitter's Day' for when users most often abandon New Year's resolutions?

Strava coined 'Quitter's Day' after analysing millions of logged activities: the mid-January date on which the most users give up the goals they set at New Year.

In the movie 'When Harry Met Sally,' what happens between the main characters on New Year's Eve?

He confesses his love: Harry sprints across Manhattan to reach the party before midnight and tells Sally he loves her; an earlier New Year's Eve in the film had ended with their awkward first kiss.

Tết, the lunar new year, is the most important festival of which country?

Vietnam's Tết Nguyên Đán opens the lunar year with peach blossom, kumquat trees and square bánh chưng rice cakes; the 1968 Tết Offensive took its name from the holiday.

What made January 1, 1863 one of the most significant New Year's Days in American history?

Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation took effect on January 1, 1863, declaring enslaved people in Confederate states 'forever free', making New Year's Day a day of liberation marked as 'Watch Night' in African American communities.

Which game, first played 1 January 1902, began the New Year's Day bowl tradition?

The Rose Bowl, first played on 1 January 1902 and held annually since 1916, was nicknamed 'The Granddaddy of Them All' by broadcaster Keith Jackson.

Which city hosts the Mummers Parade, the oldest US folk festival, every New Year's Day?

Philadelphia has held the Mummers Parade officially since 1901, sending Comics, Fancies, String Bands and Fancy Brigades down Broad Street every New Year's Day.

Gujarati New Year, Bestu Varas, falls on the day after which festival?

Diwali: Gujarati New Year, Bestu Varas, falls on the first day of the month of Kartik, the day after Diwali, when traders open fresh account books for the year.

In the American South, which food is eaten on New Year's Day for luck, often with rice as Hoppin' John?

Black-eyed peas, which stand for coins, with collard greens for folding money. One story says the tradition dates to the Civil War, when Union troops left the peas behind as animal feed and they kept the South fed.

What is the traditional greeting used in Japan for New Year, meaning 'Happy New Year'?

'Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu' (明けましておめでとうございます) is the standard Japanese New Year greeting, meaning 'Happy New Year' or more literally 'Congratulations on the dawn [of a new year].' It is used when greeting someone for the first time after midnight on January 1.

Which Pacific island nation, whose Line Islands sit at UTC+14, is the first inhabited place on Earth to greet each New Year?

Kiribati, which in 1995 moved the date line east so its whole country could share one calendar day, and got the first New Year as a bonus. Its Christmas Island, Kiritimati, rings it in a full 26 hours before Baker Island.

Which US territories are among the very last places on Earth to ring in the New Year?

American Samoa (UTC-11) and uninhabited Baker Island (UTC-12) sit just east of the International Date Line, so they reach the New Year last, 25 to 26 hours after Kiribati's Line Islands.

Israelis call 31 December by what name, to distinguish it from Rosh Hashanah?

Silvester is the name Israelis use for 31 December, borrowed from Europe; Tel Aviv's council reportedly voted to ban Silvester parties in 1934, without much effect.

Which Japanese broadcaster has aired the Kohaku Uta Gassen song contest since 1951?

NHK has staged Kohaku Uta Gassen every New Year's Eve since 1951, first on radio and on television from 1953, with red and white teams of singers facing off.

Seoul's Bosingak bell is rung how many times at midnight on New Year's Eve?

33 strokes, for the 33 heavens of Buddhist cosmology; the Bosingak bell in Seoul's Jongno district is struck at midnight as the year turns.

Which cardboard horn do Filipinos blow to make noise and scare off bad luck at midnight?

Torotot horns, cheap cardboard trumpets sold on street corners, make the midnight racket; the feast that follows, Media Noche, features pancit noodles for long life.

Which building hosts Taiwan's most prominent New Year's fireworks show?

Taipei 101 has fired New Year fireworks from its tiers since its opening night on 31 December 2004, with an LED light show added on its north face from 2018 as shell counts were cut.

Which waltz do Austrian broadcasters play right after the Pummerin bell strikes midnight?

The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss II: after the Pummerin, the great bell of St Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna, strikes midnight, ORF plays the waltz and crowds dance in the streets.

Which British sketch airs on German TV every New Year's Eve, yet is obscure in the UK?

Dinner for One, Freddie Frinton's sketch as recorded by NDR in 1963, has aired in Germany every 31 December for decades; its line 'the same procedure as every year' is a pop-culture staple.

German and Finnish revellers practise molybdomancy, telling New Year fortunes from what?

Molten metal in water: Germans call it Bleigiessen, melting lead or tin in a spoon and tipping it into cold water, then reading fortunes from the shapes it freezes into.

The German wish 'Guten Rutsch' literally wishes you a good what into the new year?

Slide: 'Rutsch' means a slide or slip, though some trace the phrase to Yiddish 'rosh' (head, as in Rosh Hashanah); Germans also nibble a tiny marzipan pig for luck.

Whose New Year's Eve fireworks are launched over the Parthenon?

Athens fires its midnight fireworks over the Acropolis and the Parthenon; Greek families then cut a vasilopita with a coin baked inside for luck.

What colour underwear do Italians traditionally wear on New Year's Eve for luck?

Chileans and Venezuelans favour yellow, while Brazilians wear white.

Which round Italian legume is eaten at midnight because it looks like coins?

Lentils, eaten with zampone or cotechino sausage, stand for coins; one old custom was a spoonful per bell toll at midnight.

Which Dutch New Year's snack is a deep-fried doughnut ball?

Oliebollen, raisin-studded dough balls deep-fried and dusted with icing sugar, are sold from street stalls all December; rural Dutch also fire milk-churn lids skyward with calcium carbide, a listed piece of cultural heritage.

Portuguese revellers eat twelve of what at midnight, one for each month?

Twelve raisins, one wish per chime, are the Portuguese answer to Spain's grapes; families also share Bolo-Rei, a crown-shaped cake hiding a fava bean.

Whoever finds the fava bean in Portugal's Bolo-Rei must do what?

Buy next year's cake: whoever bites the fava bean in the Bolo-Rei owes the following year's cake; a small metal trinket was also baked in until EU safety rules ended that in 1999.

Which Russian president announced his resignation in his 1999 New Year's address?

Boris Yeltsin stunned Russia by resigning in his televised 31 December 1999 address, handing power to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as acting president.

Which 1976 Soviet comedy is Russia's New Year's Eve TV fixture?

The Irony of Fate, Eldar Ryazanov's 1976 comedy about a drunken Moscow-to-Leningrad mix-up, airs every 31 December; secular Novy God traditions were promoted from 1935 after Christmas was abolished in 1928.

Ded Moroz delivers New Year gifts with help from his granddaughter, known as what?

Snegurochka, whose name means 'Snow Maiden', accompanies Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost) on his New Year rounds; Russian New Year trees are called yolka.

Which Madrid square hosts Spain's main New Year's Eve gathering?

Puerta del Sol's clock, on the old Post Office building, gives the twelve chimes broadcast nationally as Spaniards eat their grapes.

Growers from which Spanish province pushed the twelve-grape custom in 1909 to sell a surplus?

Alicante growers, facing a bumper 1909 harvest, promoted the twelve-grape custom nationwide; the practice had been recorded in Madrid as early as the 1880s.

Which 10 km race is run through Madrid on the evening of New Year's Eve?

The San Silvestre Vallecana, first run in 1964, is a 10 km road race through Madrid on 31 December, finishing in the Vallecas district, with a mass popular race and an elite race.

Which Swiss ice hockey tournament traditionally holds its final on New Year's Eve?

The Spengler Cup, held in Davos since 1923, is the oldest invitational club tournament in ice hockey and traditionally ends with its final on 31 December.

Since 2004, the UK capital's midnight fireworks fly from the South Bank and which landmark?

The London Eye has anchored the capital's midnight fireworks since the 2003-04 display; for 2020-21, with crowds barred during the pandemic, a drone show took their place.

Marchers in Stonehaven, Scotland, swing what around their heads at midnight?

Burning fireballs of chicken wire and rags are swung on chains down Stonehaven's High Street and hurled into the harbour; the custom goes back more than a century.

Which Welsh custom sees children sing door to door for gifts and money on New Year's Day?

Calennig, from the Latin 'kalendae', sees Welsh children go door to door on New Year's morning singing for coins and sweets, sometimes carrying a skewered apple studded with cloves.

Which Trinidad and Tobago season begins as the New Year is rung in?

Carnival: Trinidad's Carnival season opens with the New Year and builds through fetes and calypso tents to the two days before Ash Wednesday; in Port of Spain the midnight party runs until sunrise.

Which Atlanta object was traditionally lowered down a 138-foot tower on New Year's Eve?

A giant peach: the 800-pound fibreglass fruit was lowered at Underground Atlanta from 1989, the South's answer to the Times Square ball.

The 'Big Orange' is raised at midnight on the side of which Florida hotel?

The InterContinental Miami, beside Bayfront Park, hoists the neon Big Orange up its facade at midnight; Bayfront Park concerts there were televised as Pitbull's New Year's Revolution until 2017-18.

Which composer founded the New Year's Eve Concert for Peace in Manhattan in 1984?

Leonard Bernstein conducted the first New Year's Eve Concert for Peace at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in 1984, and the cathedral has hosted it annually since.

Sydney's 9 pm New Year's fireworks, once the 'Family' show, were renamed what?

Calling Country Fireworks: from 2020 Sydney's 9 pm show was reworked with First Nations artists to honour Aboriginal culture, running ahead of the midnight main event.

Which US state capital lowers a giant copper acorn at midnight on New Year's Eve?

Raleigh, the 'City of Oaks', lowers a 1,250-pound copper acorn at its First Night celebration; the sculpture was made for the city's bicentennial in 1992.

Which Rio de Janeiro beach hosts one of the world's biggest New Year's fireworks displays, drawing millions of revellers to the sand?

Copacabana, where organisers expected more than three million spectators to welcome 2018. Many wade in to toss flowers to Iemanjá, the sea goddess, which is the other reason for the crowd.

Sao Paulo's famous New Year's Eve road race, run since 1925, covers what distance?

15 km, the distance fixed in 1991; the São Silvestre race has been run on 31 December since 1925 and its route takes in the Viaduto do Chá and Paulista Avenue.

Ecuadorian men dress in drag on 31 December to represent what?

Widows of the old year: the 'viudas' mourn the Año Viejo effigy in drag, dancing in the streets and demanding a toll from passing drivers before the effigy burns at midnight.

Office workers in Montevideo's Old City throw what out of the windows before year's end?

Torn-up calendars and old papers: Montevideo's 'lluvia de papeles' showers the Old City's streets, joined by buckets of water and a cider fight at the Mercado del Puerto.

Which English preacher adopted the Moravians' 'Watch Night' vigil, now kept on New Year's Eve?

John Wesley held his first Watch Night at Kingswood near Bristol around 1740 after seeing the Moravian vigil; in 1862 Black congregations kept Watch Night awaiting the Emancipation Proclamation, remembered as 'Freedom's Eve'.

Who wrote 'What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?', the 1947 standard?

Frank Loesser, later the composer of Guys and Dolls, wrote 'What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?' in 1947; Ella Fitzgerald and Nancy Wilson both recorded it in the 1960s.

Which Times owner staged the first Times Square New Year's Eve fireworks in 1904?

Adolph Ochs, publisher of The New York Times, threw a fireworks party on 31 December 1904 to celebrate the paper's move to its new headquarters, One Times Square.

The first Times Square ball was inspired by a time ball atop which structure?

Western Union's telegraph headquarters on lower Broadway dropped a time ball at noon each day; chief electrician Walter F. Palmer suggested copying it after the city restricted rooftop fireworks.

Which bell's chimes, carried by the BBC, mark midnight for the UK on New Year's Eve?

Big Ben, the 13.7-tonne great bell of the Elizabeth Tower at Westminster, strikes midnight on BBC radio and television, a broadcast tradition that began on 31 December 1923.

Which John Lennon song is played in Times Square at 11:55 pm before the ball drop?

'Imagine' has been the pre-midnight song in Times Square since 2005-06, and since 2010-11 a guest artist sings it live just before the countdown.

Which boxing legend pressed the ceremonial Times Square button to welcome 2001?

Muhammad Ali pushed the ceremonial button on 31 December 2000; other button-pushers have included Lady Gaga, Sonia Sotomayor and Ban Ki-moon.

Which New York mayor took his oath on the Times Square stage minutes into 2002?

Michael Bloomberg was sworn in on the Times Square stage just after the ball dropped on 1 January 2002, since a mayor's term begins at midnight; Eric Adams repeated the gesture in 2022.

Seollal, marked with tteokguk soup and bows to elders, is which country's lunar new year?

South Korea's Seollal is a three-day holiday for visiting family, performing the sebae bow to elders and eating tteokguk rice-cake soup, which by tradition adds a year to one's age.

For 1981-82, the Times Square ball was restyled with red bulbs and a green stem as what?

A Big Apple: from 1981 to 1988 the ball wore red bulbs and a green stem to tie in with the I Love New York tourism campaign.

Why did the 1987-88 Times Square ball drop last 61 seconds?

A leap second had been added to the end of 1987, so the drop was stretched to 61 seconds to match, even though leap seconds are inserted at midnight UTC, five hours before New York's midnight.

Which disco legend sang 'I Will Survive' at the pandemic-era 2020-21 Times Square event?

Gloria Gaynor performed 'I Will Survive' in an almost empty Times Square on 31 December 2020, when attendance was limited to media, performers and families of essential workers.

What was the coldest recorded Times Square ball drop temperature, in 1917-18?

1 F: the 1917-18 drop was the coldest on record; the 2017-18 drop was second-coldest at 9 F, with a wind chill of minus 4.

Which network first aired Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve in 1972?

NBC aired the first two editions, for 1972-73 and 1973-74, before the special moved to ABC, where it has stayed since the 1974-75 edition.

Which fruit cake is a traditional first-footing gift in Scotland?

Black bun, a dense fruit cake baked inside a pastry case, is carried by first-footers along with coal, salt, shortbread and whisky.

Traditionally, what kind of man makes the luckiest first-foot?

Tall and dark-haired: the preferred first-foot, as some link the distrust of fair-haired strangers to memories of Viking raids.

Christmas became a public holiday in Scotland only in which year?

1958: Christmas Day only became a Scottish public holiday that year, after the Presbyterian Kirk had discouraged the feast for nearly 400 years, which is why Hogmanay became the main winter celebration.

Which BBC Hogmanay show, hosted by Andy Stewart, ran from 1957 to 1968?

The White Heather Club: Andy Stewart opened with 'Come in, come in, it's nice to see you' and closed with 'Haste ye Back'.

Which 1946 film ends with a crowd singing 'Auld Lang Syne' around George Bailey?

It's a Wonderful Life, Frank Capra's 1946 film, closes with the townsfolk of Bedford Falls singing 'Auld Lang Syne' as they bail out James Stewart's George Bailey on Christmas Eve.

Which two classical composers each arranged 'Auld Lang Syne' around 1792 and 1814?

Both used the original brisk strathspey rhythm.

Which country used the 'Auld Lang Syne' tune for its national anthem until 1972?

The Maldives sang its anthem 'Gaumii salaam' to the 'Auld Lang Syne' tune until a new melody was adopted in 1972; South Korea's 'Aegukga' also used the tune until 1948.

At the Millennium Dome on 31 December 1999, Queen Elizabeth II was mocked for doing what during 'Auld Lang Syne'?

Not crossing her arms, which was in fact correct: Scottish practice crosses arms only for the last verse, and she, holding hands with Tony Blair, was following it. The press did not check.

Which George M. Cohan song deliberately quotes the first line of 'Auld Lang Syne'?

'You're a Grand Old Flag' (1906) ends its chorus with 'Should auld acquaintance be forgot, keep your eye on the grand old flag'.

A 2007 University of Bristol study found what share of New Year's resolutions fail?

88% of the 3,000 participants in Richard Wiseman's 2007 study failed their resolutions, even though 52% had been confident of success at the start.

Baby New Year is usually drawn wearing a diaper, a sash with the year, and what?

A top hat: Baby New Year is drawn in a diaper, a sash bearing the year and a top hat; he is often paired with Father Time, into whom he ages by year's end.

In Rudolph's Shiny New Year, the runaway Baby New Year is named what?

Happy, the Baby New Year, fled because others laughed at his big ears, and a vulture named Aeon the Terrible hunts him in the 1976 Rankin/Bass special.

On which day of January did the Old New Year fall during the 20th and 21st centuries?

It marks 1 January in the Julian calendar, still used by many Orthodox churches; the 13-day gap holds until 2100.

Which Welsh valley celebrates the Old New Year, Hen Galan, on 13 January?

Cwm Gwaun, the Gwaun Valley in Pembrokeshire, kept the Julian date when Britain changed calendars in 1752; children skip school to sing house to house for calennig.

Which Roman king is credited with adding the months of January and February?

Numa Pompilius, Rome's legendary second king, is credited with adding January and February to the old ten-month calendar, which began in March, which is why September means 'seventh'.

Under which act did Britain and its colonies adopt 1 January as New Year's Day in 1752?

The Calendar (New Style) Act 1750, Lord Chesterfield's Act, moved the legal start of the year from 25 March to 1 January from 1752 and dropped eleven days that September to adopt the Gregorian calendar.

Since which year has Japan celebrated New Year on 1 January of the Gregorian calendar?

1873: Japan switched to the Gregorian calendar on 1 January 1873 (Meiji 6), five years after the Meiji Restoration, replacing the lunisolar Tenpō calendar.

What are the traditional Japanese New Year dishes made to keep unrefrigerated called?

Osechi ryori, packed in lacquered jubako boxes, was designed to last the first three days of the year without cooking; ozoni is the mochi soup eaten alongside.

Which fruit tops the two-tier kagami mochi New Year decoration in Japan?

A daidai tangerine: the bitter orange is auspicious because 'daidai' also sounds like 'several generations', a wish for the family line to continue.

What are the Japanese New Year's postcards timed to arrive on 1 January called?

Nengajo: Japan Post holds cards posted in late December and delivers them together on the morning of 1 January; families in mourning send a mochu hagaki instead, asking friends not to send cards.

The Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert, broadcast around the world, has been held since 1939 in the Golden Hall of which building?

The Musikverein, at 11:15 on 1 January, with the same programme played on 30 and 31 December. It ends, by tradition, with the Blue Danube and the Radetzky March, the audience clapping along.

Who led the 1939 Vienna New Year's Concert, the only one not held on New Year's Day?

Clemens Krauss conducted it on 31 December 1939 as an 'extraordinary' concert under Nazi propaganda auspices, with proceeds going to the Kriegswinterhilfswerk war-winter relief fund.

Thailand's traditional New Year festival Songkran was the official new year until which year?

1888: King Chulalongkorn moved the official new year to 1 April that year, and in 1940 the government shifted it to 1 January from 1941, while Songkran on 13-15 April stayed a national holiday.

Vancouver's Polar Bear Swim Club, active since 1920, set a record of 2,128 swimmers plunging into which bay in 2000?

Polar bear swims are a New Year's Day tradition across Canada, with up to 10,000 spectators watching the Vancouver dip.