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:

Dec 7, 2024Arraial do Cabo, Brazil
Oct 1, 2024Yosemite National Park, California, USA
May 5, 2024Colonnade in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Mexico
Apr 17, 2025Andean cocks-of-the-rock, Ecuador
Jun 8, 2024Confluence of Easter Creek and Killik River, Alaska, USA
Oct 12, 2024Wood duck, Quebec, Canada
Apr 16, 2025Kachina Bridge, Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah, United States
Mar 29, 2024South Stack Lighthouse, Holyhead, Wales, UK
Oct 22, 2024Palazzo Zuccari, Rome, Italy
Feb 9, 2024Pegadung Rock, Lampung, Sumatra, Indonesia
Aug 3, 2025Sunflowers
Jun 21, 2025Masai giraffes in the Serengeti
Dec 12, 2024Poinsettia flower
Dec 22, 2024Crystal Pier, San Diego, California, United States
Aug 6, 2024Molokini crater, Maui, Hawaii, USA
Sep 29, 2024West Cornwall Covered Bridge, Connecticut, USA
Jan 28, 2024Channel Country, Australia
Mar 21, 2024Bwindi Impenetrable Forest, Uganda
May 1, 2025Plumeria flowers, Hawaii, United States
Apr 28, 2024El Capitan, Guadalupe Mountains National Park, Texas, USA
Sep 6, 2023Rethymno, Crete, Greece
Jun 7, 2024Family of humpback whales, Dutch Harbour, Alaska
Jun 17, 2025Maritime forest in Cumberland Island National Seashore, Georgia, United States
Sep 17, 2023Cuban tody, Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, Cuba
Apr 3, 2025Saguaro National Park, Arizona, United State
Sep 5, 2025Santa Monica Pier
Jun 8, 2025Steller sea lions
Jul 29, 2025Bengal tiger, India
Dec 24, 2024Half-timbered Houses of Freudenberg, Germany
Aug 20, 2023Start Point Lighthouse, South Devon, England