New Years Eve in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Dec 31, 2024

New Years Eve in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

New Year"s Eve, also known as Old Year"s Day, is celebrated around the world with revelry, fireworks, and for some, religious and cultural observances. Many countries celebrate with foods symbolic of prosperity, long life, and good fortune for the coming year, and many people sing the Scottish folk song "Auld Lang Syne" at the stroke of midnight in remembrance of old friends and past experiences. The new year is often personified as a baby in a tradition that dates back to ancient Greeks, and paired with an old man who represents the year that is ending.

© Wagner Meier/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Dec 31, 2018A new tradition in London
Dec 31, 20193, 2, 1 … Happy New Year!
Dec 31, 2020Goodbye, 2020!
Dec 31, 2021New Year s Eve
Dec 31, 2022New Year s Eve in Sydney, Australia
Dec 31, 2023Happy New Years Eve!
Dec 31, 2025New Years Eve

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Nov 29, 2021Rainbow Mountain
Aug 25, 2023National Park Service anniversary
Nov 2, 2020Waiting for winter
May 8, 2023Arches National Park, Utah
Aug 26, 2020Spotted Lake emerges
May 5, 2021The birthplace of Cinco de Mayo
Jun 22, 2024World Rainforest Day
Oct 15, 2023European hedgehog
Jun 17, 2024Pollinator Week
Oct 10, 2020Birds of a feather
Feb 3, 2018Rooftops in the walled city of Urbino, Italy
Jan 8, 2019A stunning national park in winter white
Jan 14, 2020Going head-to-head with winter
May 16, 2022Burrowing owls
Dec 11, 2025International Mountain Day
Mar 5, 2018Seattle Central Library, Seattle, Washington
Jan 18, 2025Dunes at White Sands National Park, New Mexico
Jan 5, 2021Flying high on National Bird Day
Feb 25, 2019High above the reef
Oct 18, 2022The Guggenheim Bilbao turns 25
Aug 13, 2023Perseid meteor shower over Oregon
Dec 24, 2023Christmas Eve
Sep 6, 2018Feeling chic on Fashion Week
Dec 5, 2025Maya site of Copán
Aug 21, 2018Ingenuity in action on the Santa Monica Pier
Jun 6, 2024The 80th anniversary of D-Day
Feb 18, 2023Eben Ice Caves, Upper Peninsula, Michigan
Oct 27, 2023Sligachan Old Bridge, Isle of Skye, Scotland
May 22, 2023International Day for Biodiversity
Oct 1, 2024Yosemite National Park anniversary