New Year's Eve 2022 In Long Branch: Basie Center, Pier Village

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — In the Middletown area, you can find a variety of local New Year's celebrations, such as at Bar Bella in Holmdel.

Here is a look at some events happening in the area as we ring in 2023:

• Long Branch: Free outdoor fireworks spectacular at Pier Village 9-9:30 p.m. Dec. 31
• Holmdel: New Year's Eve at Bar Bella at Bell Works in Holmdel; Dec. 31 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. Jan. 1 of the New Year. Check Eventbrite for details.
• Red Bank: Red Bank Elks is hosting a New Years Eve Bash that is open to the public with a four-hour open bar. Must be age 21 and above. Cocktail attire, food, DJ, photo booth, champagne toast and a ball drop on the Navesink. Tickets can only be purchased online @www.redbankelks.org. $125 up to the day of the event. Email [email protected] with questions. Part of the proceeds will go to Elks National Foundation, which gives us grants to give back to our community.
• Red Bank: Count Basie Center for the Arts; Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes go on stage at 6 p.m. sharp. By popular demand, this is an early performance that will end around 8 p.m. VIP Package: “The Party Before The Party” – $150 includes premium ticket, early entry, private performance and complimentary cocktail with Asbury Jukes’ keyboardist Jeff Kazee, and limited exclusive merchandise item. Limited to 100 tickets. Doors open 4 p.m.; event start time is 4:30 p.m.
• Freehold Township: iPlayAmerica, 110 Schanck Road, Freehold 07728, will have a New Year’s Eve event from 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. with a night of rides, party favors, confetti cannons, DJ, giveaways, and more for the whole family. New Year’s Eve Party Pass is $42.99 or $52.99 at the door. Purchase online.
• Howell: Our House Restaurant, New Year's Eve Party with Local Honey, Dec. 31, $99 per person. Call to make your reservation: 732-938-5159; includes a five-hour premium open bar, buffet dinner and dessert, champagne toast to ring in the New Year, dancing, party favors and live music from Local Honey.
• Middletown: Monmouth Museum, Kids' New Year's Eve celebration; Saturday, Dec. 31, 10:30 a.m.; make a party hat and noisemaker; march in a New Year’s Eve Parade; countdown to “midnight” at noon. Included with museum admission of $12, members free. Registration at Monmouthmuseum.org/events. The Monmouth Museum is located at 765 Newman Springs Road, Lincroft 07738 on the Brookdale Community College campus, parking lot #1, off Museum Drive.

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.