New Year’s Eve 2022 In Berkeley: Parties, Live Music

BERKELEY, NJ — It's hard to believe that the new year is almost upon us. While some stay at home to celebrate, for those who are looking to get out, there are plenty of options around the Berkeley area to ring in 2023.

B2 Bistro + Grill is hosting what they call "the area's most epic NYE party" with live music from The Nerds, a three-course dinner and open bar. Visit here to get tickets.

MJ's Restaurant is offering food and drink specials all evening, with DJ Big Ed providing music. Visit here for more information.

Here is a look at some additional events happening around Berkeley:

• Live music and a dinner buffet at Bum Rogers Crabhouse
• Check out a massive dance party, light show and more at Hemingway's Seaside Heights
• Rosie's Ocean Gate is offering a menu of specials in addition to their regular menu

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.