Culture | NPR

How the New Year's Eve countdown began

WBUR | By Here & Now Newsroom

Published December 31, 2025 at 11:03 AM CST

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The 7-foot tall "2026" numerals are displayed at an illumination ceremony in Times Square, Thursday, Dec. 18, 2025, in New York. (Adam Gray/AP)

As we approach the new year, did you know that counting down to midnight in the last seconds of Dec. 31 is a modern phenomenon?

Historian of history, Alexis McCrossen, takes us through where it comes from and how New Year went from a local celebration to a national and international one.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.