New Year's Eve 2022 In The Ellington Area: Plenty Of Things To Do

ELLINGTON, CT — There are plenty of ways to say goodbye to 2022 and usher in 2023 in Ellington and the surrounding area. Let's take a look at some options for residents in Hartford and Tolland counties.

If dining out is the way to go, restaurants like Cafe Aura in Manchester, Artisan in West Hartford, Millwright's in Simsbury, The Charles in Wethersfield and River in Wethersfield and the Max Restaurant Group's locations all offer special evenings. The same goes for Wood-n-Taps in Vernon and throughout Hartford County. Most brewhouses in both counties will be hosting revelers as well.

Most diners in the area are open for late-night munchies, and most dance halls and nightclubs will be in full swing.

Wanna laugh off 2022? Comedy clubs like Hatford Funny Bone in Manchester and the Sea Tea Comedy Theater in Hartford are offering programs for New Year's Eve.

Speaking of Hartford, First Night is ready to welcome thousands to the capital city.

Recreation halls like Sonny's Place in Somers and Nomad's in South Windsor, bowling centers and movie theaters will be open, even during the day for families.

Mount Southington will be open day and night for skiing and snowboarding.

Want to throw off some steam? Axe-throwing venues like Stumpy's Hatchet House in Manchester and Axe It in Wethersfield and Montana nights in Southington and Newington will accommodate that.

Want to shoot some pool? Halls like Racks Billiards and Bar in Vernon are ready.

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.