1. The annual tradition of gathering in Times Square for New Year’s started as a party to celebrate the opening of the New York Times building in 1904.
2. Americans drink around 360 million glasses of sparkling wine on New Year’s.
3. The confetti dropped in Times Square is holding secret messages. People submit wishes to the Wish Wall in Times Square (or online), and those wishes are turned into the confetti that falls over the crowd at midnight.
4. You can thank a pope for making our new year start on January 1. The Gregorian calendar was introduced in October of 1582 by Pope Gregory.
5. The New Year’s kiss started with the Romans.
