New Year’s Eve 2022 Near Shrewsbury: See Events, Parties

SHREWSBURY, MA — You've made it through another 12 months. That means it's time to celebrate.

The 2022 New Year's Eve will come with the benefit of celebrations taking place on a Saturday ahead of a long weekend — giving you two days to recover from all the Dec. 31 fun.

Here are just a few events happening in the Shrewsbury area for New Year's in 2022:

Pizzeria Uno, Westborough — "Looking for a fun, Kid-friendly event on New Year's Eve? Look no further! UNOS is hosting a Kids party from 4 to 7 p.m. with ginger ale toasts and balloon drops at 5 and 7 p.m."

Start Line Brewing, 151 Hayden Rowe St., Hopkinton — "Join us for a special New Year’s Eve show that will be sure to wrap up the year with a great time. House favorites Moxie will unveil their new band line up, debut some new tunes and covers to make for a fun and festive celebration. Show time 6 to 9 p.m. No admission charge. Seating and occupancy is limited and first come first served. No reservations."

Maxwell Luciano's, Union Station, Worcester — "Jay Gates Impersonates Rod Stewart & Eddie Money featuring the Muldrow Sisters."

Worcester Beer Garden, 64 Franklin St. — Doc Robert provides music starting at 9 p.m.

White Eagle, 118 Green St., Worcester — Reservation only dinner.

EcoTarium, 222 Harrington Way, Worcester — A "Noon Year's Eve" celebration for kids. "Attendees can make a time capsule, add a 2023 resolution to the resolution wall, participate in exciting education programs, and more!"

White Room, 138 Green St., Worcester — Music starting at 8 p.m. by Jubilee Gardens and Cigareets and Whusky.

Have an event you want listed? Email neal.mcnamara@patch.com

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.

According to legend, if they kept their word, pagan gods would grant them favor in the coming year. If they broke the promise, they would fall out of God’s favor, according to a history of New Year’s resolutions compiled by North Hampton Community College New Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Many secular New Year’s resolutions focus on imagining new, improved versions of ourselves. The failure rate of New Year’s resolutions is about 80 percent, according to U.S. News & World Report. There are myriad reasons, but a big one is they’re made out of remorse for gaining weight, for example, and aren’t accompanied by a shift in attitude and a plan to meet the stress and discomfort of changing a habit or condition.