When I was a kid I thought it was cool when the ball dropped and to see the clock tick down to Midnight. But the whole Times Square stuff is actually pretty silly. It's just a bunch of liberals mostly listening to noise music immodestly dressed in the freezing cold. Then they think they have to kiss at Midnight. I'd rather listen to the radio where they say "At the tone time is Midnight." but now they play the sound track to the fireworks on the local news radio channel.
I just liked it because of the number changing. There is nothing to celebrate. The Winter Classic outdoor hockey game on New Year's Day is much more interesting.
Saying Happy New Year and making "New Year's resolutions" just seems pretty gay to me. It's an artificial date for the beginning of the Solar New Year. It would make more sense to have the solar year start on the first day of Spring (It used to be on March 25 on the old Julian Calendar.).
Also, why do peoples say "New Year's"? I don't even know if there should be an apostrophe. Probably it's only correct to say it as "New Year's" if followed by the word Eve or Day. I just call it either the Secular, Civil, Gregorian, or Solar New Year.
Jews have Tekufat Tevet to mark the beginning of our Solar Winter which falls out this year on Monday, January 6. Our Lunar Winter began on the Seventh Day of Hanukkah (First of Tevet). Some hold that it began on the First of Kislev if you go by that there are 6 seasons of 2 months each based on Parashat Noah. Astronomical Winter began on December 21 and Meteorological Winter began on December 1.
