Fireworks over Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Canada Dec 31, 2024

New Year"s Eve, also known as Old Year"s Day, is celebrated around the world with revelry, fireworks and for some, religious and cultural observances. Many countries celebrate with foods symbolic of prosperity, long life and good fortune for the coming year, and many people sing Scottish folk song "Auld Lang Syne" at the stroke of midnight to remember old friends and past experiences. The new year is often personified as a baby, a tradition that dates back to ancient Greeks, often paired with an old man who represents the previous year.

© naibank/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Dec 31, 2023Phra Nakhon Khiri, Thailand

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Feb 9, 2025Alstrom Point, Lake Powell, United States
Apr 11, 2025Tulips, Netherlands
Aug 27, 2023Jeju Island, South Korea
Aug 12, 2024African elephants, Amboseli National Park, Kenya
Nov 21, 2023Grey seal pup
Nov 11, 2024Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada
Oct 26, 2024Gespensterwald, Niehagen, Germany
Jun 29, 2025Blue lagoon of Pulau Ay, Banda Islands, Indonesia
Mar 25, 2025European goldfinches
Jun 3, 2024Bicycles in Copenhagen, Denmark
Oct 12, 2023Palouse region, Idaho, USA
Dec 3, 2024Amber Fort, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Jan 3, 2025Radcliffe Camera and All Souls College, University of Oxford, England
Dec 10, 2023Llyn Padarn lake, Snowdonia, Wales
Oct 3, 2025Glen Brittle, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Mar 3, 2025Yellow-billed hornbills in Kruger National Park, South Africa
Oct 25, 2024Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France
Jun 22, 2024Amazon rainforest, Brazil
Dec 9, 2024Two guanacos, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
Apr 24, 2025Kenai Fjords National Park, Seward, Alaska, United States
Jul 30, 2025Ribadesella, Asturias, Spain
Dec 15, 2024Lake Misurina, Dolomites, Italy
Mar 22, 2024Blue Spring, Te Waihou Walkway, New Zealand
Jun 29, 2024Beech forest in Nienhagen, Germany
Mar 22, 2025Cenote Nicte-Ha, Tulum, Mexico
Mar 2, 2024Modica, Sicily, Italy
Jul 17, 2024Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bavaria, Germany
Sep 8, 2025Library@orchard, Singapore
Jul 2, 2024Italica, an old Roman city in Santiponce, Andalusia, Spain
Sep 2, 2023Allens hummingbird