Where To Celebrate New Year's Eve 2022 In Channahon, Minooka

CHANNAHON, IL — As local residents prepare to ring in the New Year later this week and usher in 2023 in festive style, there are plenty of options to close out 2022 around Channahon and Minooka on Saturday.

From traditional parties that center around the clock striking midnight to more family-friendly events that don’t require remaining out until the wee hours of Sunday morning, several area venues will be hosting events.

Here is a look at some additional events happening in the Channahon and Minooka area:

• New Year's Eve Zumba Party

9 a.m. Dec. 31
Channahon Fieldhouse, 24935 W. Sioux Dr.

• Rock In the New Year

8:30-9:30 a.m. Dec. 31
Jazzercise Joliet, 805 Western Ave., Joliet

• New Years At Noon Balloon Drop

Noon, Dec. 31
Sky Zone, 2318 Essington Rd., Joliet
Tickets are $20.23 for 90 minutes of jump time

• New Year's Eve Family Party

6-10 p.m., Dec. 31
Haunted Trails, 1425 N. Broadway St., Joliet
Enjoy great food and fun plus welcome the New Year with a special balloon drop, toast, and countdown celebration! Seating is limited and early booking is required Call (815) 722-7800 or book online at www.hauntedtrailsjoliet.com

• New Year's Eve Party

5-7 p.m., 7:30-9:30 p.m., 10 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Dec. 31
Joliet Town & Country Lanes, 2231 W. Jefferson St.
Two hours of cosmic bowling for up to six people, shoe rental, pizza, and pop. The event includes party favors, hats, and noisemakers. Join the 10 p.m. party for a complimentary midnight toast! Online reservations are required.

• New Year's Eve Party and Comedy Show

9 p.m.-1:30 a.m. Dec. 31
Posh Banquets & Event Center, 411 South Larkin Ave., Joliet
New Year's Eve party featuring celebrity comedian Willie Lynch Jr., DJ World, Host Herb Howard and more. Champagne toast and entrees included. Tickets $100

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.