New Year’s Eve 2024 On Long Island

LONG ISLAND, NY — Forget the ball drop in Times Square.

Whether you are single and looking to mingle, hang with your buddies or girlfriends, or spend some time with your family, there are plenty of ways to ring in 2025 this New Year's Eve on Long Island.

From ball rises to bowling parties to dinners and dancing, the island will not disappoint on the last day of the year.

One of the largest New Year's Eve celebrations on the island is Patchogue Village's annual ball rise and fireworks show. "Midnight on Main" kicks off earlier in the evening — at 7 p.m. —with a deejay playing tunes, food trucks, games, and holiday attractions.

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Here is a look at some additional events happening on Long Island:

• New Year's Eve Gala at Risteggio's, Medford
• Arooga's New Year's Eve, Patchogue
• Villa Lombardi's New Year's Eve Party, Holbrook
• New Year's Eve Gala at The Meadow Cub, Port Jefferson Station
• New Year's Eve Dinner at Danford's, Port Jefferson
• Family-friendly Ball Lighting, Farmingdale
• New Year's Eve at Port Jefferson Bowl
• New Year's Eve Great Gatsby Gala, Mirabelle at The Three Village Inn, Stony Brook
• 2024 Ball Drop, Lindenhurst
• New Year's Eve at The Fox Hollow Inn, Woodbury
• New Year's Eve Celebration at The Halston, Melville
• Masquerade Ball, Oheka Castle, Huntington
• The Mansion at Glen Cove
• Bee Gees Tribute at The Paramount, Huntington
• Prix Fixe at Prime, Huntington

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.