In the US, the most popular way to welcome the new year is with a big party. Some parties are at private homes. But in recent years, it has become more and more common for Americans to go to a hotel or eating-place on the night of December 31st. There, they can eat a big dinner, drink champagne, and dance to orchestra music. Most New Year's parties are usually noisy. People shout and sing. And often, guests blow on small noisemakers when the new year arrives at midnight. This tradition of noise making is believed to start centuries ago. People thought that loud sounds would drive away the bad spirits of the old year. The biggest, noisiest New Year's party in the US takes place in Times Square in New York. Thousands of people gather  there. Some of them ring bells and set fireworks. Others blow whistles of car horns . And at twelve o'clock, they begin to cheer as an electric sign in the shape of a red apple lights up on top of a tall building. The Times Square celebration includes another well-known American tradition. Since 1929, the band of musician Guy Lombardo has given a concert on New Year's Eve. Guy Lombardo died in 1977. But, Bill Lombardo, has kept the tradition alive with a band concert at a New York city hotel. When the crowds in Times Square start cheering the arrival of the new year, television cameras show the band playing the song Auld Lang Syne. In the past, some American people made big noise when the new year arrived   _
to express their friendship to drive away the bad spirits to make others more excited to give best wishes to each other