Excerpted from ABC News:
What’s That Song?
Often described as the world’s most popular song no one knows the words to, "Auld Lang Syne" has become something of a soundtrack for midnight on New Year’s Eve.
The title of the Scottish tune translates to "times gone by" and is about remembering friends from the past and not letting them be forgotten.
Despite its strong association with New Year’s Eve, "Auld Lang Syne," written by Robert Burns in the 1700s, was never intended to be a holiday song. Guy Lombardo is credited with popularizing the song when his band used it as a segue between two radio programs during a live performance at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York in 1929. By mere coincidence, they played "Auld Lang Syne" just after the clock hit midnight, and a New Year’s tradition was born.
Ending the Night with a Bang
Fireworks and noisemakers at the moment of the New Year date back 2,000 years to China, where they believed the revelry would frighten away evil spirits.
Perhaps the best known (and least favorite) of all New Year’s traditions is the New Year’s resolution, which first started with the Babylonians. Though the tradition remains, the resolutions have changed over time. Four thousand years ago, Babylonians most likely pledged to return borrowed farm equipment once the new year dawned. In 2006, the majority of Americans resolved to lose weight.
There’s one part of the ancient Babylonian tradition that has not changed over time — habitually breaking the resolution before the year’s end.
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Here’s a few links to photographs and stories of the year in review.
2006 Year in Review by InfoPlease
First Night Celebration: Boston, MA
