Where To Celebrate New Year’s Eve 2024 In Ellicott City

ELLICOTT CITY, MD — Ring in the New Year at one of several events being held across Howard County.

The Merriweather Symphony of Lights in Columbia offers a one-mile course of scenic colored lights visitors can drive through to experience the holiday season. The experience opened on Nov. 29 and goes until Jan.4; however, visitors can walk through the light show on select dates.

On New Year’s Eve, the venue will host the “Midnight at 7” event, giving guests the chance to walk through the course one last time this holiday season. Fireworks will be set off at 7 p.m. followed by music and food trucks.

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

• New Year's Eve Bash with The Amish Outlaws at Reckless Shepherd Brewery: Complete with a champagne toast, balloon drop and live music. Doors open at 7 p.m.
• Midnight Masquerade for New Year's Eve at Turf Valley Resort: There will Cajun cuisine, live music and festive masks for the Mardi Gras-themed party, which starts at 8:30 p.m.
• New Year's Eve Celebration at GameOn Bar + Arcade Columbia: Join Columbia Social to ring in the new year at GameOn Bar + Arcade in the Merriweather District with drinks, arcade games and a midnight champagne toast.
• New Year's Eve Masquerade Party at Vacation and Chill Columbia: DJ Ayye One will spin the music for a night of fun with complimentary hors d'oeuvres, a complimentary champagne toast and surprises throughout the night.
• Oversea Distillery New Year's Eve Bash: Ring in the new year at Oversea Distillery for a night of multi-genre DJ music, specialty craft cocktails and a midnight toast to ring in 2025.
• The Collective New Year's Eve featuring Bachelor Boys Band: Dance the night away at The Collective Columbia with an open bar, champagne toast, hors d'oeuvres, desserts and live music.
• New Year's Eve Party at Periodic Table Columbia: Ring in the New Year with food, drinks and live entertainment by the 8 Ball Deluxe Band. A champagne toast is included with admission.

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.