In New York City's first Times Square New Year's Eve ball drop in 1907, electricity powered the illuminated ball.
The first ball was lowered on December 31, 1907, to mark the arrival of 1908. It was built from iron and wood, covered with 100 light bulbs, and measured about five feet across. The event was organized for the New York Times after the newspaper moved its headquarters to the newly named Times Square.
The ball-drop tradition continued after that first event, although wartime blackouts suspended the illuminated display in 1942 and 1943. Later balls became larger and technologically more advanced, but the central idea remained the same: a glowing object descended during the final seconds before midnight. The answer is electricity, not gas or candles, because the original ball used electric light bulbs.