New Years Eve 2008

In the United States, New Year's Eve is a major social holiday. The top destination for the past three years has been New York, according to hotwire.com. Additionally, a high demand for table service reservations at the most exclusive night clubs in the country has become a rapidly growing social trend since the turn of the millennium, according to the largest New Year's Eve event production company in Las Vegas, NewYearsParty.com. In the past 100 years the "ball dropping" on top of One Times Square in New York City, broadcast to all of America (and rebroadcast in many other countries), is a major component of the New Year celebration. The 1,070-pound, 6-foot-diameter Waterford crystal ball located high above Times Square is lowered, starting at 23:59:00 and reaching the bottom of its tower at the stroke of midnight (00:00:00). It is sometimes referred to as "the big apple" like the city itself; the custom derives from the time signal that used to be given at noon in harbors.