New Year's Eve Countdown

The countdown above shows the exact time remaining until December 31st. New Year's Eve is the biggest party night of the year, and whether you are planning a house party, booking tickets to an event, or making restaurant reservations, knowing exactly how much time you have is key.

New Year's Eve is celebrated across every time zone, with an estimated 1 billion people watching the Times Square ball drop alone and billions more celebrating in their own local traditions around the globe.

New Year's Eve celebrations date back thousands of years. The ancient Babylonians held festivals to mark the transition between years, and the Romans celebrated with feasts honoring Janus, the two-faced god of doorways and beginnings, who looked simultaneously toward the past and the future.

The Times Square ball drop began in 1907, replacing an earlier fireworks tradition that had been banned due to fire safety concerns. The current ball weighs 11,875 pounds, is 12 feet in diameter, and is covered with 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles illuminated by 32,256 LEDs capable of displaying over 16 million colors.

Around the world, New Year's Eve traditions are wonderfully diverse. Brazilians wear white and jump seven ocean waves. Danes throw unused plates against friends' doors. Colombians carry empty suitcases around the block for travel luck. The Japanese ring temple bells 108 times. And the tradition of singing "Auld Lang Syne" at midnight, written by Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1788, has become nearly universal in English-speaking countries.