New Year’s Eve 2024 In Alexandria: First Night, Fireworks

ALEXANDRIA, VA — In Alexandria, the tradition of First Night Alexandria will return on New Year's Eve for a 30th year. Children's performances, live music, comedy and a finale of midnight fireworks will highlight the day.

Festivities start at 2 p.m. with children's performances and a day party. Family-friendly fireworks will run at 6 p.m., followed by live music, comedy and other entertainment on 12 stages. The main fireworks event will usher in the new year at midnight.

Tickets are required to attend any First Night Alexandria Venues, but fireworks viewing is free. For more information, visit www.firstnightalexandria.org.

Here is a look at some additional events happening in and near Alexandria:

• Olde Year's Day at Torpedo Factory Art Center
• Fireworks over the Potomac NYE party at Jula's on the Potomac
• New Year's Fiesta at Havana 151/Lena's Wood-Fired Pizza & Tap
• New Year's Menu at Kismet Modern Indian
• Alexandria New Year's Eve Bar Crawl
• New Year New Trademark
• New Year's Eve Cocktail Party at The Light Horse
• New Year's Eve Prix Fixe Dinner at Cheesetique Del Ray
• Noon Year's Eve at Kate Waller Barrett Branch Library
• NYE Party: Alexandria Bier Garden’s Beer Garden Ball Drop
• Specials at Vola’s Dockside Grill
• Count Down to Noon: NYE Day at the BeeLiner Diner
• Noon Years Eve at Hops N Shine
• New Year's Eve Celebration at Ice & Lights: The Winter Village
• New Year's Eve Fireworks Cruise from Alexandria
• New Year's Eve Celebration at Blackwall Hitch
• New Year's Eve Celebration at Northside 10
• Southern Style New Year's at Hen Quarter
• New Year's Eve Live Music at Clyde's Mark Center
• New Years Eve with The Seldom Scene and Tim & Savannah Finch with the Eastman String Band at The Birchmere
• New Year's at The Wharf
• Big Night DC New Year's Eve Extravaganza at Gaylord National Harbor

If you know of other events, send an email to oldtownalexandria@patch.com, and we'll add it to this list.

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.

One of Virginia's traditions is the Chincoteague Island Horseshoe Drop, which celebrates the wild ponies that call Chincoteague home.

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.