At New York City's Times Square celebration, a lighted ball is dropped at midnight to welcome the new year.
The ball descends from a flagpole atop One Times Square during the final minute of December 31. Its slow descent gives the crowd a visible countdown before the new year begins, after which confetti is released and the crowd celebrates.
The first ball in 1907 was a relatively simple illuminated structure. Successive versions changed in size and materials, and the modern ball is covered with illuminated Waterford crystal panels and LED lighting. The design has also been modified for special anniversaries.
The Times Square ball is sometimes mistakenly called a “crystal ball” in a fortune-telling sense. It is instead a large engineered lighting installation whose crystal panels create the famous sparkling appearance.