New Year’s Eve 2022 Around Arlington: Hikes, Fireworks

ARLINGTON, MA — The holidays are here. With them comes time to say “goodbye” to 2022.

From dining events to fireworks to time in the great outdoors, here’s a primer on what to do on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day around Arlington and the rest of Greater Boston this year:

Great Gatsby New Year’s Eve at Tavern In The Square - Allston

Tavern in the Square's Allston location will ring in the new year with a Great Gatsby-themed party beginning at 8 p.m. on Dec. 31.

New Year’s Eve at Kowloon Restaurant - Saugus

Saugus' beloved Kowloon will host an evening of live music, food and more beginning at 8 p.m. on Dec. 31.

DCR First Day Hikes - Various Locations

Those looking to get outside on New Year's Day have a slate of options to choose from, including local state Department of Conversation and Recreation-sponsored hikes at the Breakheart Reservation in Saugus and the Middlesex Fells Reservation.

KefiFM Boston New Year's Eve Party - Woburn

Enjoy dinner, dancing and more beginning at 8 p.m. on New Year's Eve at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Woburn.

New Year’s Eve at Aeronaut - Somerville

Aeronaut Brewing Company in Somerville will host a night of dancing, food and music beginning at 7 p.m. on New Year's Eve.

New Year’s Day Brunch - Lexington

Lexington's Town Meeting Bistro will host a brunch event beginning at 11 a.m. on New Year's Day.

First Night Boston - Boston

Annual New Year's Eve celebrations are back this year in Boston with a full schedule of events to ring in the new year.

Do you have an event to add to this list? Email it to [email protected].

In the United States, one of the most popular New Year’s Eve traditions is, of course, the dropping of the giant ball in New York City’s Times Square. Various cities have adopted their own iterations of the event — the Peach Drop in Atlanta, the Chick Drop in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and the giant Potato Drop in Boise, Idaho.

The end of one year and beginning of another is often celebrated with 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 history of New Year’s resolutions dates back 8,000 years to ancient Babylonians, who would make promises to return borrowed objects and pay outstanding debts at the beginning of the new year, in mid-March when they planted their crops.

According to legend, if they kept their word, pagan gods would grant them favor in the coming year. If they broke the promise, they would fall out of God’s favor, according to a history of New Year’s resolutions compiled by North Hampton Community College New Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

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 myriad 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 and a plan to meet the stress and discomfort of changing a habit or condition.