New Year's Eve In The Caldwells: Parties, Tastings, Meetups

THE CALDWELLS, NJ — Whether want to spend New Year's Eve with old or new friends, there's a place for you in the Caldwells and Essex County. Here are just a few of the events, tastings, and special dinners we found in the area:

New Year’s Eve 2022

• The Calandra family of restaurants has three venues with special menus and events on New Year's Eve, located in Caldwell and in Fairfield. Il Vecchio Cafe in Caldwell is hosting a family buffet from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., as well as a la carte dining and a separate midnight celebration. Find out what they're up to here. Also check out Calandra's Meditteranean Grill and Cucina Calandra in Fairfield for their own New Year's Eve events.
• Lorena's Restaurant and Bar in Maplewood has a special four-course dinner that night. Check it out here.
• At the Feathered Fox in Livingston, Chef Chris Siversen "has put together an evening to send your senses singing into 2023." Find out more here.
• La Pergola, a Northern Italian restaurant in Millburn, is having a special lunch and three-course dinner. Find out more here.
• Essex County towns have no shortage of bars and restaurants holding events. But if you feel more like trying something new or meeting new people, with a walk, dinner, or something else, Meetup.com has endless activities in and around the area.
• Want to head closer to New York City? One of the best views of the Hudson River can be had at RoofTop @ Exchange Place in Jersey City. Find out more here.
• Wondering why your event isn't listed here? Email Patch next time your restaurant in Essex County is opening, closing, or doing something unique.

New Year's Traditions

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.