Where To Celebrate New Year’s Eve 2024 In Barnstable

BARNSTABLE, MA — Cape Cod residents won't need to look to Boston for celebrations this New Year's Eve.

There are plenty of local events to attend on the Cape, ranging from fireworks displays, parties and beyond.

Here is a look at some events happening in and around Barnstable:

• First Night Chatham
• First Day Hikes Cape Cod
• Yarmouth Polar Plunge
• New Year’s Eve Fireworks from MacMillan Pier
• First Light Provincetown
• Margaritaville New Year's Eve Blowout
• First Night Boston
• Patriot Place First Night Celebration

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.

Massachusetts’s twist on the ball drop is First Night Boston, the city's biggest celebration. Fireworks over Boston Common start at 7 p.m. with another set of fireworks set off over Boston Harbor as the clock ticks midnight.

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.