Countdown to midnight, fireworks, champagne, friends, family and parties… New Year’s Eve 2025 will be celebrated all around the world in various festive ways.
Learn more about New Year’s Eve celebrations and origins, get inspired for the 2025 New Year’s Eve (2025 NYE). May this joyful night be memorable!
So, what exactly is celebrated on New Year’s Eve? Is Saint Sylvester’s Day the same as New Year’s Eve?
Why do we celebrate New Year’s Eve?
New Year’s Eve Origins
New Year’s Eve has not always been commemorated on December 31st: the date changed many times through the centuries. The New Year didn’t start at the same date either, even for countries sharing the same time zone.
The New Year was first observed about 2000 BCE in Mesopotamia. During this time, New Year’s Day corresponded to the first new moon following an equinox (the March equinox, for example). The practice of making resolutions for the New Year was already shared by people who were trying to get gods’ favours for the new year to come.
New Year’s Eve was first set to December 31st from 153 BCE, but it did not last long before the date changed again…
Fast forward to the Middle Ages (medieval times), from 476 to 1453 CE, New Year’s Eve was celebrated by most Christian populations, on March 24th or on December 24th.
Ultimately, it’s with the Gregorian calendar, proclaimed in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, that New Year’s Eve was set to December 31st. Countries then gradually adopted the Gregorian calendar: Scotland in 1660; England, Wales and Ireland in 1752…
Know that some countries adopted December 31st as the New Year’s Eve day before that: Spain from 1556, France from 1564.
The vast majority of countries now celebrate New Year’s Eve on the last day of December.
Some religions or cultures continue to use the lunar calendar to decide when a new year starts. For example, the Chinese New Year is usually between January 20th and February 20th.
Saint Sylvester’s Day
In France, Saint Sylvester’s Day is often mentioned when talking about New Year’s Eve celebrations. But who was Saint Sylvester?
Saint Sylvester, or Pope Sylvester I, was the bishop of Rome from 314 to 335. His pontificate coincided with the baptism of Constantine I and the construction of several churches such as the Basilica of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem.
We honour Saint Sylvester on December 31st in Western countries and on January 2nd in Eastern countries. His feast is commemorated as Saint Sylvester’s Day.
How is New Year’s Eve celebrated around the world?
Parties, dinners, songs, dances, fireworks… We honoured New Year’s Eve differently around the world. Globally, people spend time with loved ones, visit temples or churches, make resolutions or watch fireworks just after the countdown to midnight.
In Germany, for example, spectacular fireworks are organised on New Year’s Eve to drive away evil spirits. People also make as much noise as possible to spook bad spirits.
Some New Year’s Eve traditions may seem unusual or funny.
In Spain, people eat 12 grapes at midnight to bring luck and fortune: one grape for each stroke of midnight. In Norway, vanilla rice puddings are often served after dinner. An almond is sometimes hidden inside: whoever finds an almond can expect good fortune for the new year.
If you celebrate the New Year in an English-speaking country, you may hear “Auld Land Syne” (Old Long Since), a Scottish ballad sang by people around midnight. This song is very popular even if there is no specific reference to New Year’s Eve in it; it’s about old friends catching up over a pint or two…
Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia; Trafalgar Square or Big Ben in London, England: major cities often organised spectacular New Year’s celebrations. For instance, the New Year’s Eve Ball drop in Times Square (New York City, US) is organised since 1907 and is broadcast live to millions of people.
Irish traditions on New Year’s Eve
In Ireland, people tend to spend time with friends and family on New Year’s Eve. Some go to restaurants or pubs: just before midnight, they go outside to watch fireworks and share best wishes with people around, in cities like Dublin. Then, they go back inside to continue festivities.
For the ones spending New Year’s Eve at home, they might set a place at the dinner table for the loves ones who passed away during the year. Some families also let the main door open for the family spirits to visit them during that night.
Another New Year’s Eve tradition followed by superstitious Irish people is to bang some bread against the main door to protect their home from evil spirits and bad luck.
As you may know, Ireland is home of many traditions.
For good luck, after midnight stroke, some persons will place coal in the house… some will enter the house through the from door and exit by the back door.
New Year’s Eve in France
French people celebrate this event with friends or family, at home or by going out. Restaurants, bars or pubs (like O’Sullivans Irish Pubs), are most likely to organise special events for New Year’s Eve: sumptuous meals, unique DJ sets, glamorous parties, etc.
French people usually eat special dishes to celebrate the day: canapés, foie gras, oysters, scallops… New Year’s Eve meals often include champagne!
One of the best places to celebrate New Year’s Eve in France is Paris.
Each year, the Champs-Élysées are closed to traffic for people to gather on the famous avenue. This is the place to be on New Year’s Eve. Expect live performances, music, joy, lighting effects, cheerful crowd… and a countdown to midnight, displayed on the Arc de Triomphe.
At midnight, the crowd kisses, cheers with champagne, wishes “Happy New Year!” to strangers and loved ones. This is an event not to be missed!
New Year’s Eve 2025 at O’Sullivans!
To celebrate New Year’s Eve 2025, each O’Sullivans Irish Pub offers a unique festive experience to their guests.
Situated at 300 m from the Champs-Élysées, O’Sullivans Franklin Roosevelt welcomes you for a refined dinner evening. You prefer unconventional New Year’s Eve celebrations? Visit the O’Sullivans Rebel Bar in the Marais district! If you book a show at the Moulin Rouge, pop in at O’Sullivans By The Mill: we are situated just next door!
You are spending New Year’s Eve in the South of France? Visit By The Beach, in Mandelieu (near Cannes), or O’Sullivans Montpellier to celebrate the New Year the best way possible.
Come celebrate New Year’s Eve 2025 with us!
