Where To Celebrate New Year’s Eve 2024 In Berkeley

BERKELEY, CA — As the clock ticks toward 2025, Berkeley is gearing up for vibrant celebrations to ring in the New Year.

Whether you're drawn to a lively countdown or a more relaxed toast in a romantic setting, Berkeley is setting the stage for a memorable transition into 2025.

Here is a look at some additional events happening in and around town:

• 2024 Grand Finale at The Lawrence Hall of Science — Bid farewell to 2024 and ring in 2025 with colorful confetti blasted from a confetti cannon. Confetti launches every 45 minutes starting at 10:45 a.m. in this family-friendly event. The Lawrence Hall of Science is located at 1 Centennial Dr. in Berkeley.
• Berkeley New Year's Eve Signature Dinner Cruise — Sailing from Berkeley, this cruise includes a dinner buffet, top shelf bar including bottomless champagne, DJ entertainment, fabulous views of the skyline and San Francisco fireworks (the forecast is for clear skies), and New Year's Eve hats, horns, and party favors. Board at 8:30 p.m., then cruise from 9 p.m. to 1:15 a.m. Embark from the Berkeley Marina, 200 Marina Blvd.

If you're looking to make reservations for dinner, the following Berkeley restaurants will be open, according to OpenTable:

• Agrodolce
• Akemi Berkeley
• Claremont Lobby Bar
• La Marcha
• Revival Bar+Kitchen
• Skates on the Bay
• ZINO

In the United States, one of the most popular New Year’s Eve traditions is the dropping of the giant ball in New York City’s Times Square. Other U.S. cities have their own versions of this celebration, such as the Peeps Chick Drop in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and the giant Potato Drop in Boise, Idaho.

The transition from one year to the next is often marked by 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 tradition of New Year’s resolutions dates back 8,000 years to ancient Babylonians, who made promises to return borrowed items and repay debts at the beginning of the new year, which was in mid-March when they planted their crops.

• Related: What New Year’s Resolution Did You Keep? How Did You Do It? [Patch Survey]

According to legend, if people kept their word, the pagan gods would grant them favor in the coming year. However, if they broke their promises, they would lose favor with the gods.
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 many 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 or a plan for coping with the stress and discomfort that comes with changing a habit or condition.