From the thousands, no, millions of celebrations around the globe that will ring in the new year, what are the best takeaways for meeting profs? We scoured the web to find the grandest, the wildest and even the wackiest ways we Earthlings will greet the arrival of our latest revolution around the sun. These we distilled into four megatrends to tuck into your to-do files for an OMG event in 2025.
Trend #1: Drop Something
The first ball drop in Times Square, New York City, was on Dec. 31, 1907. A ball five feet in diameter and illuminated by 100 incandescent light bulbs was lowered manually. The first televised drops—with the dramatic countdown to midnight by American Bandstand’s Dick Clark—began in the 1970s.
But why not drop something more meaningful, symbolic—or weird?
In Mt. Olive, North Carolina, it’s a giant pickle. Thousands cheer as a 3 1/2-foot lighted pickle dips into a redwood tank.
In Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, it’s a 400-pound chick—a.k.a., a squishy marshmallow Peep—as part of the city’s annual PeepsFest.
In Mobile, Alabama, it’s a 600-pound, 12-foot-tall, lighted MoonPie.
In Boise, Idaho, it’s—of course—a 17-foot, glowing spud.
In Philadelphia, it’s a huge, illuminated mushroom.
In Eastport, Maine, it’s an eight-foot sardine draped in Christmas lights.
But wait…the craziest drop of them all may be the Possum Drop in Tallapoosa, Georgia. Hang on, don’t call PETA. It’s taxidermized, i.e., stuffed. Its name is Spencer. And its annual New Year’s Eve appearance is an homage to the town’s equally improbable nickname, Possum Snout.
Trend #2: Get Attendees Wet
In Montevideo, Uruguay, the stroke of midnight means dousing those around you with cider, beer and water. In Brazil, there’s the tradition of jumping seven waves while making seven wishes. In both these Southern Hemisphere countries, it’s summertime on New Year’s Eve, so that makes getting wet fun. Not so much in Poland, where morsowanie (“winter bathing”) is a yearly ritual, sometimes done while donning Santa caps, that is believed to strengthen the immune system for the new year.
Read More: Immunity Boosters You Can Eat
Trend #3: Destination, Destination, Destination
Celebrating New Year’s Eve is all about the “where.” As with destination weddings, the place itself amps up excitement as the clock strikes midnight on the last day of the old year.
Want to go big? Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach plays host each New Year’s Eve to Reveillon, the world’s largest and, according to witnesses, wildest New Year’s celebration. More than 2 million cariocas (Rio natives) congregate on the 2 1/2-mile beach wearing stark white. Hundreds of lighted candles on the sand represent wishes made to the Afro-American goddess of the sea, Yemanya.
Want to go back in time? New Year’s Eve in Venice, Italy, means fireworks from floating platforms in St. Mark’s Basin, and the colors dance across the incomparable historic facades on Piazza San Marco. Luxury hotels like the Hotel Danieli and the Gritti Palace host fantastic galas, but a gondola on the Grand Canal is the best place to watch the explosions and hear music in the piazza. But be sure to wear red underwear for good luck in the new year.
Want to go down under? Sydney, Australia’s extravaganza of fireworks, lighting and projections is one of the world’s most technologically advanced. More than 1 million spectators will line the Sydney Harbor shore (and some 425 million will watch on screens worldwide). This year’s theme is an exploration of the underwater world, immersing celebrants in an aquatic show of fish, sharks, dolphins, whales, stingrays, gropers, cuttlefish and eels, plus seaweed, waves, caves and shells.
Trend #4: Celebrate Without Pet Trauma
On every continent (with the possible exception of Antarctica, but who knows?), as the boom and flash of spectacular fireworks heralds the arrival of 2025, dogs will whine miserably and cats will dash for hiding places under beds.
Because they have much keener hearing than we do, it’s no surprise fireworks can provoke such anxiety and fear. You have probably already experienced, or even provided as part of an event, the pet-friendly alternative: the lighted drone show, with a nonthreatening soundtrack. South Bend, Indiana, is one of many cities presenting a drone light show this New Year’s Eve.
