Every New Year’s Eve at 11:59pm, about a million people join together in Times Square, and a billion people watch from home, as the annual Ball Drop counts down each second to the new year. Have you ever wondered where this tradition comes from? When did this tradition start? Or even, where did the “ball” idea come from?

The first ever recorded “ball-dropping” was in 1833 where the Royal Observatory in England would drop one every one o’clock to set their navigational instruments called chronometers.  In 1904, people joined in Times Square just to celebrate the new year, but it wasn’t until 1907 where a flagpole with the first iteration of the Times Square Ball, made of wood and iron, was placed on top of One Times Square. Each iteration of the ball made it brighter, and in 2009, the seventh and current iteration was made and used for that new year.

Did you know that the current ball has 32,256 LED lights? It also weighs around 11,875lbs, and has about 2,688 crystal triangles which are replaced each year. 

The staff at The Rapier would like to know what traditions you have to ring in the new year! Comment with your traditions!