New Year’s Eve 2024 In Arlington: Kids' Balloon Drop, Somerville Bash

ARLINGTON, MA — Residents will not have to look too far to find an event in the area to ring in 2025. Arlington is in proximity to a variety of festivities.

Zoolights at Stoneham’s Stone Zoo are ongoing through Sunday, Jan. 5. Families can spend the final hours of 2024 surrounded by exotic creatures and dynamic light displays. Young children can experience their own version of a ball drop at Medford's Village Playspace on 64 Salem St. Somerville's New Year's Eve Party is not too far from residents at Premiere Broadway. Waves Restaurant and Bar in neighboring Wakefield also hosts a party that begins at 6:30 p.m.
Here is a list of some additional events happening near Medford:

• New Year's Eve at Dave and Buster's - Woburn
• New Year’s Eve Celebration at Rosaria Restaurant - Saugus

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.