Where To Celebrate New Year's Eve 2023 In And Near Windsor

HARTFORD/TOLLAND COUNTIES, CT — From romantic dining to pizza parties to the pub scene to light shows to vibrant celebrations to comedy to skiing, there is plenty to do for New Year's Eve not only in and near Windsor, but in north central Connecticut as a whole.

Here are a few of the more active ways to say goodbye to 2023 and usher in 2024:

Mount Southington survived the recent vicious rain and wind storm and is operating. New Year's Eve will likely be a day session, but skiers and riders can check the mountain's website to confirm.

First Night in Hartford is certainly an annual tradition and fireworks displays are on tap for the younger crowd at 6 p.m. and the revelers at midnight.

The Funny Bone in Manchester and Sea Tea Improv in Hartford are both hosting New Year's Eve events.

The area boasts several dining options for either takeout, the pub scene or intimate dining.

Here is an overview:

Hartford County

• Mark's Tavern, East Windsor
• Maine Fish Market, East Windsor
• Sofia's, East Windsor
• Tosca, Suffield
• Francesco's, Suffield
• The Barn, Granby
• J and G Restaurant and Lounge, East Granby
• Skyline, Windsor Locks
• Tunxis Grille, Windsor
• 2 Hopewell, Glastonbury
• J. Gilbert's, Glastonbury
• Max Fish, Glastonbury
• Sakura Garden, South Windsor
• Ted's Montana Grill, South Windsor
• Red Heat, South Windsor
• Mill on the River, South Windsor
• Cafe Aura, Manchester
• Market Grille, Manchester
• Labyrinth Brewing Company, Manchester
• Elicit Brewing Co., Manchester
• Yarde Tavern, Enfield
• Jimmy's Pub/Pizza Palace, Enfield
• Figaro, Enfield

Tolland County

• Basil's, Stafford
• Hilltop, Willington
• Beni's, Vernon
• Utsav, Vernon
• Wood-N-Tap, Vernon
• Ninety-Nine, Vernon
• Square Peg, Vernon
• Rocking Horse, Vernon
• Mario's Ristorante, Somers
• Hidden Still, Ellington
• Trattoria La Lapri, Ellington
• Camille's, Tolland
• Huskies Tavern, Storrs

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 adopted iterations of the ball drop — the Chick Drop in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and the giant Potato Drop in Boise, Idaho, for example.

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.