Where were you when the ball dropped? (Any year)
1989
I can remember being young when the ball started to drop, I was in the family room of my parents’ house, surrounded by friends and family, many whom were holding wooden spoons and pots and pans. When the clock struck midnight, we all shouted, Happy New Year! and marched out of the house, through the front yard, and into the street, banging our pots and pans the whole way.
1999
I can remember sitting on the balcony of a row house with my girlfriend and some of her friends, all of us feeling bored and disappointed with our New Year’s festivities while waiting for the fireworks across town to launch and wondering if the predictions of Y2K would come true. We were cold, and when the ball dropped, we were trying desperately to overcome the lack of excitement our company brought each other by catching a buzz off cheap wine and watery beer, bad pot, and ineffective mushrooms.
2009
I can remember sitting with my cousin in an odd nook that was just big enough for two people and a small table at the end of a short corridor in some restaurant near the Gion District in Kyoto. When the ball dropped, the sliding doors across the hallway at the end of our corridor suddenly burst open and the faces and voices of ten or more university students appeared saying, Akiome! Akiome! which is an abbreviated form of Happy New Year in Japanese.
I can remember where I was during a lot of different situations on a lot of different New Year’s Eves, but one of my favorite New Year’s moments took place at the end of 2005 or 2006. I was in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and as it is pretty typical in America to spend New Year’s Eve in a bar, a restaurant, or at a party, I was sitting at the bar of a restaurant called One Caroline listening to the live jazz that was being played and drinking Maker’s Mark. Part of the reason why this New Year’s is so memorable to me is because, counter to New Year's tradition, I was alone.
I had made tentative plans to meet up with a friend at this bar and those plans had apparently fallen through. Instead, I happened to run into an old high school classmate whom I hadn’t seen in seven or eight years. We had a nice time talking for a bit and just before the ball dropped, I finished my drink, said goodbye, and walked outside. It was snowing. And the snowflakes were the big, cotton-ball type. They were beautiful. The sky was completely grayed by them, and their size and the way they fell to the ground created warm glowing halos of light around the street lamps that lined the street.
After walking out the door, I turned left, down the slope of the hill that the street had been built on and just as I did, fireworks began to explode in the air above me. Their colors and flashes were muted by the snow and the trails of smoke they produced wafted heavily downward toward the pavement. Through all the drifting and lingering smoke, I could see a hoard of people pouring out of a corner bar. They were all singing Auld Lang Syne in unison.
The entire scene was so spontaneous and arrestingly beautiful that I stopped in my tracks just to watch and listen. Behind the echoing bombardments of firework explosions came the rich, jovial sounds of men, many of them probably strangers, joyously singing, Should auld acquaintance be forgot, And never brought to min’? As they did so, more people from other restaurants and bars poured into the street, some of them with their arms around each others' shoulders, some of them with their hands in the air. Some of these people, too, joined in the singing.
And when the song came to an end, there was this crowd of people all hugging and kissing and shouting, Happy New Year! in the street as colorful flashes of fireworks burst over their heads, their designs hidden by the foggy smoke and falling snow.
It was an incredible moment, one that somehow felt to me like the epitome of an American New Year's.
Where were you when the ball dropped on your favorite New Year’s Eve? Or, where do you think you will be when the clock strikes twelve this New Year’s Eve? Please share your stories in the comments below. As promised, a portion of the rewards from this post will be shared with those of you who make quality comments. For more information about reward distribution, please refer to this post. Also please note that comment rewards will not be distributed to comments that have been added to this post after the initial twenty-four hour voting period has closed.
Your post made me smile...such vivid writing, I could envision your experiences.
I really had to think long and hard about my many New Years Eve's over the years. Growing up, we were never a big to-do sort of family. We would watch the ball drop on T.V. and then it was off to bed.
I do remember one though that stands out in my mind. I was 18 or 19 years old and my best friend and I had hitchhiked from Florida to Columbus, Ohio. I don't remember exactly what possessed us but we ended up arriving in Ohio about two weeks before Christmas. We rented a double room in a motel that rented by the week and we both set out to find jobs. The job hunt went rather poorly and all I could land was a waitressing job 3 nights a week in a local diner.
By the time Christmas arrived she was tired of trying and decided to go home to her parents. I don't really blame her, it was pretty rough subsisting on cold Pop Tarts and Cup O Noodles. After she left, I was determined to stay and make it work. When New Year's Eve rolled around I was pretty down on my luck. I had just enough money left for one more week of the room and some snacks to get me through that week.
That night I decided to walk down to the River District, the last thing I wanted was to be alone on New Years Eve. Even being surrounded by strangers was better than being alone. I walked into one of the Irish bars by skirting in behind a large group so as not to get carded by the bouncer and sat down in the back hoping not to be noticed since I was underage. It was incredibly crowded of course and loud with revelers and music. I sat quietly for what seemed like eternity just watching the people smiling and laughing and thinking of the mess I had gotten myself into. I was so deep in thought that I hadn't noticed the handsome man that had sat down at my small table and was looking at me waiting for my reaction. When I finally realized he was there and jumped with shocked he flashed a smile and asked me to dance. I should have said no but ended up dancing with him for a few songs which was great fun. I decided that it was time for me to head back to my room before all the partiers headed out into the streets to watch the fireworks. I snuck out of the bar when my dance partners back was turned and started making my way down the already crowded street. I had made it to the street corner, winding my way through the crowd, where I stood waiting for the light. I suddenly felt a hand on my elbow and when I turned I realized it was my dance partner I had left in the lurch. I'm sure I turned about 10 shades of red. I apologized and explained that I just wanted to get out of the chaos. He invited me to a late night breakfast place where we sat and watched the fireworks and ate pancakes. He was a great guy and those were the best pancakes I had ever eaten. I couldn't get over how lucky I was to have accidentally met this person, on this night, when the thing I needed the most was the company of someone kind and genuine. After we ate, we walked through the snow and he asked me for a second date. I took his number and kissed him on the cheek and walked back to my room. I never had the nerve to call him...I guess he just seemed to good to be true.
That was my favorite New Years Eve because it was unexpected and could have turned out to be a very sad and lonely ordeal but instead was quite lovely. That night gave me the resolve to continue on and I ended up eventually getting an apartment, a really nice job, and living in Columbus for about 3 years.
This is a great comment/post! Thank you for sharing! I hope you get just what you need this New Year's as well.
Thank you and Happy New Year!!
2003 I was in a tea house in Isfahan, Iran.
They don't even use the gregorian calendar there so no one was even aware it was new year for me :) I got up and shook hands with everyone. Fond memories :)
That's interesting. Thanks for sharing. Do you know if they have any kind of New Year tradition in Iran, possibly on a different date? What calendar system is used in Isfahan?
Nowruz is the Iranian new year. I wasn't there for that but I am sure there are huge celebrations. I am going to blog about my past travels in the coming months and I'll write a bit about different new year celebrations from around the world. I'll be eating grapes this new year. A Spanish tradition.
I look forward to reading about them. I'll look into Nowruz. This is the first I've heard of it. Thanks.
1996
I was in the 6th grade. My cousin was dressed in his generic-looking gray Chicago Bulls sweatsuit our grandma had gotten all of the boys that year. We were just waiting for the clock to strike 12.
Once midnight hit, we all (cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, moms and dads) ran out to our house's wrap around porch with pans and spoons to clang and clash on, and firecrackers. I remember yelling at the top of my lungs:
Nineteen! Ninety! Siiiiiiiiiix!!!!!
I am pretty sure my dad was lighting firecrackers on the ground away from the porch.
I think I remember feeling both excited and sad. Excited for New Year's, but also feeling the onset of adolescence and all the weird feelings that come with that in modern life!
That's great! I can remembering shouting out the new year with such enthusiasm as well. Thanks for sharing!
As a kid, my favorite time of the year is during Christmas season because I love the decorations, the music, the lightings, the food, the cold weather, the entertainment, the nine consecutive midnight mass which is very important for us Filipinos wherein I enjoyed most of the time as I grew up and the family gatherings on Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve right after the mass where we had our "Noche buena" ( festive eating). That was from the 1960's to the early 80's. After school I started working away from home, away from my family and friends. My kind of work is something I can't enjoy christmas holidays although I wanted to and I have spent half of my life in this situation. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve and I will be working as usual like on Christmas day. I know I am not alone in this situation, there are others too. I just have to think that I come here for work so as not to be emotional. Happy New Year!
Thanks for sharing! That's interesting that you go to nine consecutive midnight masses in the Philippines. I didn't know that.
Working on major holidays generally isn't much fun. Hang in there, and Happy New Year!
Welcome. It's our tradition that I have missed for decades. Enjoy your holidays and Happy New Year!
To all commenters, thank you very much for your participation. I will distribute the rewards from this post in a few days, once the holidays have settled down. Thanks again!