New Year’s Eve 2022 Near Germantown: Campfire, Hike, Rooftop Party

GERMANTOWN, MD — Montgomery County will celebrate the New Year with a campfire, s’mores and a hike. Other area celebrations include live music, cocktails and fancy meals.

Here is a look at New Year's Eve events happening in Germantown and nearby:

Gaithersburg: Maryland's Department of Natural Resources is hosting First Day Hikes at its state parks. On Dec. 31, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., take a hike around Seneca Creek State Park at 11950 Clopper Road, Gaithersburg.

Silver Spring: 6:30 – 9:30 p.m. Therapeutic Recreation’s New Year’s Eve Party at Holiday Park Senior Center, 3950 Ferrara Drive. For individuals ages 15 and up with disabilities. Dress in your best party attire. New Year's party favors will be available for everyone. Pre-registration is encouraged online at ActiveMONTGOMERY.org.

Rockville: Happy Noon Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. at Meadowside Nature Center, do an activity every 15 minutes until the clock strikes noon or two. Bring your favorite juice drink to toast to the New Year and we will provide the activities and a small snack. Cost is $7; register to attend.

Wheaton: Brighten Your Winter Nights Campfire, Dec. 31, from 11 a.m. to noon at Brookside Nature Center in Wheaton. Join us around the campfire to learn why winter nights are so long and how cultures all over the world celebrate this time of year with light. Create your own lantern made from recycled materials. There will be time to roast marshmallows and enjoy s’mores. All materials provided. Register each child, a guardian must attend. Cost is $7.

Colesville: Smokey Bear’s New Year’s Eve Countdown, Dec. 31, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Maydale Nature Classroom. Enjoy various activities, a campfire with s’mores, and a noon countdown to ring in the New Year. Drop-in anytime during program hours. Cost is $8. Register online.

Rockville: Critters & Cocoa at the Croydon Creek Nature Center, 852 Avery Road in Rockville. From 10-11 a.m., on Dec. 31, ring the new year in with the nature center's animals and a cup of hot cocoa.

Other events taking place include:

• New Year's Eve 2022: Dec. 31, 9 p.m.-Jan. 1, 4 a.m., at Kaldis Rooftop 918 Silver Spring Ave., Silver Spring, MD 20910
• Owen's Tavern & Garden: All inclusive New Year's Eve Party, 11820 Trade Street, North Bethesda.
• New Year's Eve Ball at Rendezvous: Grand Dinner Buffet by Royal Tandoor, cash bar, DJ, 12104 B Wilkins Ave, North Bethesda.
• Spanish Diner: Visit Spanish Diner for a special New Year's Eve menu featuring all the best Spanish classics. Check out the full New Year's Eve menu here. 7271 Woodmont Avenue, Bethesda.
• Proper 21K New Year's Eve Party 2023: Dec. 31., 9 p.m.-Jan. 1, 4 a.m., at Proper 21K 2033 K St., Northwest, Washington, DC 20006
• Cocktail Countdown - A New Year's Eve Celebration at Hook Hall: 9:30 p.m.-Jan. 1, 2:30 a.m., at Hook Hall, 3400 Georgia Ave. Northwest Washington, DC 20010
• Living Room New Years Eve Party 2023: Dec. 31., 9 p.m.-Jan. 1, 2 a.m., at Living Room, 1008 Vermont Ave., Northwest, Washington, DC 20005
• New Year's Eve Cirque du 2023 Gala: Dec. 31., 9 p.m.-Jan. 1, 2 a.m., at Omni Shoreham Hotel, 2500 Calvert St., Northwest, Washington, DC 20008
• CNN’s New Year’s Eve Live: Hosts Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper from New York City's Times Square at 8 p.m. on CNN.
• Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party: Hosts Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton, 10:30 p.m. on NBC.
• Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest: Ryan Seacrest with co-hosts Liza Koshy, Jessie James Decker, Ciara, D-Nice, Billy Porter at 8 p.m. on ABC.

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.