Where To Celebrate New Year’s Eve 2022 Near Berkeley

BERKELEY, CA — It's almost time to ring in the new year here in Berkeley, but do you know what you'll be doing? While some may choose to stay home to celebrate the start of 2023, there are still some options to head out and celebrate if you haven't yet made plans.

Among the things happening here in the East Bay: You can 'dance into the New Year' on the USS Hornet, or spend the day ice skating at one of the area rinks. Other options from around the region and nearby San Francisco include seeing a live show or heading to a masquerade party.

See below for 11 things going on this New Year's Eve. (And do note: Always confirm with organizers that events are proceeding as planned when posted.)

ALAMEDA:

• DEC. 31: New Year's Eve Gala: USS Hornet. Ring in the New Year with live music, food & dancing.
• DEC.-JAN.: The Little Ice Rink: Alameda Point. Not planned for 2022-23.

LIVERMORE:

• DEC. 31: NYE 2023 Masquerade Party. Ring in the New Year at airport's one-of-a-kind Elevation LVK.
• DEC. 31: New Year's Eve with Meredith McHenry. Evening concludes with sparkling wine toast & desserts in Bankhead lobby.

MARTINEZ:

• DEC. 31: New Years Eve Party with the Killbillies. With special prix-fixe dinner at Roxx on Main.

PIEDMONT:

• DEC. 31: Family-Friendly Noon Year's Eve. With music, crafts, & balloon drop.

SAN FRANCISCO:

• THROUGH DEC. 31: 'Dear San Francisco' Holiday & NYE Edition: Club Fugazi. ""Leap into the holiday season with the show thousands have fallen head over heels for!"
• DEC. 31: New Year's Eve with ALESSO + Open Bar. "Regarded as one of best New Year’s events in the country!"
• THROUGH JAN. 16: SF Union Square Safeway Holiday Ice Rink. Bay Area tradition with themed Drag Queens On Ice, Learn to Skate, Flashback Fridays, Polar Bear Skate & more.

SAN JOSE:

• DEC. 31: New Year's Eve San José Chamber Orchestra 'Celebration' Concert. "Reception following with a bubbly New Year's Eve toast!"

WALNUT CREEK:

• DEC. 31: New Year's Eve Casino Night. At the Elks Lodge with dinner & dancing.

In the United States, one of the most popular New Year’s Eve traditions is, of course, the dropping of the giant ball in New York City’s Times Square. Various cities have adopted their own iterations of the event — the Peach Drop in Atlanta, the Chick Drop in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and the giant Potato Drop in Boise, Idaho.

The end of one year and beginning of another is often celebrated with the singing of “Auld Lang Syne,” a Scottish folk song whose title roughly translates to “days gone by,” according to Encyclopedia Britannica and History.com.

The history of New Year’s resolutions dates back 8,000 years to ancient Babylonians, who would make promises to return borrowed objects and pay outstanding debts at the beginning of the new year, in mid-March when they planted their crops.

According to legend, if they kept their word, pagan gods would grant them favor in the coming year. If they broke the promise, they would fall out of God’s favor, according to a history of New Year’s resolutions compiled by North Hampton Community College New Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Many secular New Year’s resolutions focus on imagining new, improved versions of ourselves. The failure rate of New Year’s resolutions is about 80 percent, according to U.S. News & World Report. There are myriad reasons, but a big one is they’re made out of remorse for gaining weight, for example, and aren’t accompanied by a shift in attitude and a plan to meet the stress and discomfort of changing a habit or condition.