What would a Prohibition-era new year look like,
exactly? In some ways, it'd be very familiar. In others, especially if
it was being celebrated by a culture you're not used to, it'd seem like another world.
The ball drop in New York City's Times Square is a New Year's tradition just
about everyone knows. Crowds gather in the frigid streets to party,
and people all over the globe tune in to watch the new year come in.
"You can hear
it here in Times Square! You can feel it here in Times Square! People are ready for 2022!"
But how did this annual ritual begin?
According to Royal Museums Greenwich, timekeeping with a ball started at England's Royal Observatory
in 1833 with a scarlet time ball located atop Flamsteed House. Ships navigating
the Thames and some London residents used it to tell time. By the mid-19th century,
the New Yorker notes there were at least a dozen time balls at ports around the globe.
Spectators began flocking to Times Square in 1904, but it would take three more years before
the first ball got installed. Over the decades, seven versions of this ball have helped celebrants
countdown to January 1. In 1920, partiers watched a 400-pound wrought iron ball make
the descent. This ball was used until 1955, when a 150-pound aluminum ball replaced it.
New Year's resolutions have been around for roughly 4,000 years,
according to History. Dating back to the Babylonians, the first declarations
were made directly to the gods. For those who succeeded in sticking to their word,
the Babylonians believed they would enjoy the favor of the divine for the year.
New Year's resolutions have changed considerably, but the essential desire to set goals for the
year persists. The Atlantic notes that people were more interested in being more cheerful and
cursing less in the early 20th Century than they were with weight loss, for instance.
"I am going to be happy this year. I am going to make myself happy."
"Do you want us to leave he room, or…?"
Like today, folks also debated the merits
of New Year's resolutions. One headline from the 1920s reads,
"Has Making New Year's Resolution Gone Out of Style?"
Writer Fannie Hurst opined,
"As a custom, New Year's resolutions-making is charming. As a practice, at least for
mere mortal of my kind of clay, it has about the pulling power of a flea."
In Spain, the last night of the year is known as Nochevieja or "old night." Since at least
the 1880s, the Spanish have incorporated an eclectic tradition into their New Year's
celebrations. At the toll of midnight, they pop 12 grapes into their mouths,
attempting to chew and swallow them all before the last of the 12 chimes sounds.
Many believe the farmers of the Alicante region launched
the tradition to get people to eat more grapes. This practice quickly took off,
and by the 1920s, people were diving into bunches of grapes as the clocks chimed.
These 12 grapes came to be known as "las doces uvas de la suerte" or "the 12 lucky grapes."
For those who chewed and swallowed them in time, a year's worth of good fortune awaited. Today,
all but 20% of these so-called "lucky grapes" originate in the
Vinalopó Valley of central Alicante. These grapes have a light-green, fleshy appearance
with a refreshing flavor. They provide the perfect, hangover-free start to a new year.
One of Japan's oldest and most unique New Year's traditions is
known as toshikoshi soba and involves slurping steaming bowls of buckwheat
noodles. Some believe the tradition has 800-year-old roots and began with
a Buddhist temple that gifted the poor with soba noodles. Live Japan notes
that the custom became widely practiced during the Edo Period, from 1603 to 1867.
One of the most iconic soba noodle-making companies, Kanda Owariya, dates to 1923 and
remains a family business, according to the Federation of Japan Noodles
Organizations. The establishment's primary product remains 2:8 soba,
which will undoubtedly be slurped along with sake and side dishes this New Year's Eve.
In Japan, the beginning of the new year has long been one of the most important holidays on the
calendar. In keeping with tradition, people still devour buckwheat noodles, served cold or warm,
with dipping sauces or in a broth. According to a recent survey conducted by Min Pro,
nearly 70% of people living in Japan continue this tradition.
History notes that Americans drank themselves silly at the end of 1919,
and many felt they had good reason. Prohibition loomed with a start date
of January 17, 1920. As one person put it, according to Gothamist,
"With Prohibition coming in [...] 'twill be a dull country."
Indeed, New Year's Eve 1920 would go down as "agreeably dull," according
to the New York Herald. The newspaper lamented,
"A year ago the stuff could be toted around with perfect legality,
and in the course of the revelry, thousands of bottles of it were given away to diners
by restaurant men who took prohibition seriously and now curse their folly."
The "stuff" being discussed was almost certainly champagne. In 1850, champagne
sales sat around 6 million bottles per year. But by 1900, this figure skyrocketed to 28 million,
with a good portion of it dedicated to ringing in another year. In New York City, many
establishments had "champagne only" policies after 9 p.m. on New Year's Eve, according to Wine Bid.
Prohibition put a damper on serving bubbly at legit establishments in the 1920s. Like
other alcoholic beverages, sales went underground at secret speakeasies.
But it would have been freely savored in other parts of the world.
According to Paste Magazine, the Dutch have long feasted on
oliebollen, or "oily balls." These are deep-fried, sugar-dusted confections,
a traditional treat that stretches back to the 10th century. They also have some dark roots.
In pre-Christian times, the Dutch ate oliebollen to defend against the cruelty of the pagan goddess
Perchta. Tormented by an unquenchable hunger, she sliced her victims' stomachs to get the food
inside. Eating oily foods such as oliebollen would ensure the sword slipped off. According to Food52,
Dutch immigrants brought oliebollen to America, and over time it evolved into doughnuts.
Logically notes that a Jewish American named Adolph Levitt invented the first
doughnut-making machine in 1920. By 1933, doughnuts dominated the Chicago
World's Fair as a symbol of progress and ingenuity. Levitt would found Mayflower
Doughnut and the Doughnut Corporation of America, raking in an impressive
$25 million. As doughnut accessibility increased stateside, their associations
with New Year's Eve decreased. But those of Dutch descent snacked on them in the 1920s.
According to The Culture Trip, Brazilians pay homage to the pagan, Afro-Brazilian goddess of
the sea, lemanja, on New Year's. The University of Texas at Austin notes that West Africans
first arrived in Brazil as slaves in 1530. They couldn't openly practice their religious beliefs,
but enslaved Brazilians participated in secret rituals to the goddess for centuries.
With the abolition of slavery in 1888, Brazilians of African descent could finally practice this New
Year's tradition. In 1925, Iemanja festivities got a massive publicity boost when a group of
25 Rio Vermelho fishermen made offerings to the goddess in exchange for calm seas
and big catches. Since then, the festival has exploded in popularity among all Brazilians.
People across the nation gather at the water to make offerings between January 1 and February 2.
Traditionally, participants in Iemanja celebrations wear all white,
and their offerings include everything from flowers to mirrors. Locals also
offer white foods like coconut puddings and sweet rice. Participants believe
that if these offerings get washed into the ocean, Iemanja has accepted them.
The 1920s are still known today as the "Jazz Age." The music gained popularity throughout the decade,
and Prohibition ensured it would thrive in underground nightclubs.
According to Seton Hall University, one of the most popular jazz-playing speakeasies
was The Back Room in New York City. Visitors to The Back Room today can still see how its
original notorious guests accessed the joint. Multiple exits meant gangsters
like Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and Bugsy Siegel could slip out as needed.
"Keep it under wraps. You don't want anyone knowing you're doing this illegal thing."
The Back Room was known as "The Back of Ratner's" in the 1920s, and it attracted
a long list of movie and theater actors along with gangsters. It was a hopping social scene,
especially at New Year's. For revelers willing to take a risk on illegal cocktails,
such speakeasies would have been flowing with illegal alcohol and catchy music.
The tradition of midnight kisses on New Year's Eve can be traced back to ancient
and medieval times through English and German folklore. Christina Fitzgerald,
a professor at the University of Toledo, notes that one of the earliest mentions of a midnight
kiss on December 31 came from the Arthurian legend "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight."
Other historians believe the tradition goes back even further, pointing to ancient Rome's
Saturnalia, the winter solstice celebration that involved plenty of public drunkenness,
and presumably kissing. There was also Viking Hogmanay, a tradition still observed in Scotland,
where friends and strangers alike greeted one another on New Year's Eve with kisses.
"Scotland leads the way in New Year celebrations. Always has, always will."
Women's Health Magazine found an early-modern reference to a midnight
kiss in a New York Times' article from 1863 detailing German traditions. It reads:
"As the last stroke dies into silence, all big and little, old and young,
male and female push into each other's arms, and hearty kisses go round."
The tradition would presumably get passed down through the generations and play a significant
role in how people 100 years ago observed the passage from one year to the next.
One of the most anticipated parts of New Year's Eve celebrations remains
the launching of fireworks. These dramatic displays have existed for hundreds of years,
with their origins stretching back into ancient Chinese culture.
According to China Highlights, pyrotechnics have long been a part of Chinese New Year's
celebrations. Chinese New Year, also known as the Lunar New Year, falls between January 21 and
February 20 on the lunar calendar. These flashy festivities date back to at least the second
century B.C., when the first natural firecrackers – bamboo stalks – would get tossed into fires to
explode. According to a history of fireworks by the American Pyrotechnics Association,
hollow air pockets within the bamboo fueled these explosions as they overheated.
Centuries later, gunpowder would pack a far more serious punch. But all the
explosions shared something in common — the desire to ward off evil spirits and
ensure a bright future in the new year. And this tradition would spread internationally,
marking a vital part of festivities around the globe. Today, New Year's
Eve firecrackers and fireworks are a part of celebrations globally, creating
a festive ambiance that's remained familiar across hundreds, if not thousands, of years.