New Year’s Eve 2024 In Shrewsbury: Noon Festivities For The Family

SHREWSBURY, MA - Early celebrations headline Shrewsbury’ New Year’s Eve plans.

It’s all about being family friendly this year in Shrewsbury, as the main town-sponsored events will be a pair of “Noon Year’s Eve” parties at Floral Street Elementary School and the public library.

Here is a look at some additional events happening in Shrewsbury:

• New Years at Noon: A common tradition, Floral Street Elementary School will host a family-friendly noon countdown. There will be music, dancing, games, snacks and cider and photo opportunities. The party starts at 10:30 a.m. and goes until 12:30 p.m. $8 per person is the entry fee. Register at this link here.
• Noon Year’s Eve: The early celebrations don’t stop, as Shrewsbury Public library will also be hosting a “noon” year’s eve party. Starting at 11:30 a.m. through 12:30 p.m., there’s no registration required

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.