New Year’s Eve 2024 Milwaukee: Adult Prom, Speakeasy, And More

MILWAUKEE — You can Ring in the New Year with a day of fun across Milwaukee, including at the "New Year's Eve Party, Adult Prom Edition" being held at On Tap.

Here is a look at some additional events happening in the Milwaukee area:

NYE MKE 2025 - A Glamorous Open Bar Casino Royale NYE Dance Party (Hilton Milwaukee, p.m.)

Run into the New Year (Estabrook Park, 9 a.m.)

New Year's Eve at the Bar (Saint Kate – The Arts Hotel, 3 p.m.)

Your Window to the World on New Year's Eve (Pfister Hotel, 7 p.m.)

NYE Speakeasy at The FireHouse (Story Hill FireHouse. 8 p.m.)

Picture Your Future: NYE 2024 @ The Outsider (The Outsider, 8 p.m.)

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.