Did You Know? Facts, Figures & Folklore about About New Year’s
Eve & New Year’s Day Dec 31 : New Years Eve 1 Day till New Years
Day Did you know that “Auld Lang Syne” was written in the
1700′s? The song was written by Robert Burns in Scotland, as a
song of remembrance and reflection. The traditional New Year’s
song, played on New Year’s Eve at the strike of midnight, was
published in 1796 after Burns’ death. “Auld Lang Syne” is
Scottish for “old long ago”. It’s the most commonly sung song
for English-speakers on New Year’s Eve. Guy Lombardo, who
popularized the piece with his band, first heard the song sung
by Scottish immigrants. From 1929-1959 his band played every New
Year’s at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York, with the first radio
broadcast in 1929. The first televised New Year’s celebration
with Lombardo’s band was in 1954 and continued until 1976. Dick
Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve televised broadcast began on
December 31, 1972 to bring in a “younger crowd”, but, kept
Lombardo’s rendition of Auld Lang S