Ring In 2023 In St. Pete: Pier Fireworks, Swingin’ The New Year

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Despite First Night St. Pete, a local New Year’s Eve tradition, being canceled this year, residents and visitors alike will find plenty of fun parties and events to say goodbye to 2022 and welcome 2023 on Saturday night.

This includes the festivities at the St. Pete Pier. This free event at Spa Beach Park on the pier features a ball drop, live DJs, food trucks and bars, and fireworks from the city.

Here is a look at some additional events happening in the St. Petersburg area:

• The Saint Immaculate Reception, The Saint Speakeasy, 49 24th Street N., St. Petersburg
• NYE 2023 Wall Drop, The Factory, 2622 Fairfield Ave. S., St. Petersburg
• New Year’s Eve Party, The Floridian Social, 687 Central Ave., St. Petersburg
• Swingin’ the New Year, The Coliseum, 535 4th Ave. N., St. Petersburg
• Grand Closing New Year’s Eve Bash, Avid Brew Company, 1745 1st Ave. S., St. Petersburg

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.