The traditional Times Square Ball Drop begins at 11:59 p.m. on New Year's Eve.
The ball starts descending one minute before midnight, creating a visible countdown to the change of year. It reaches the bottom at midnight, when the crowd celebrates the beginning of January 1. The one-minute descent is the central timing feature of the ceremony.
The ball-drop tradition began in 1907 at One Times Square and was inspired partly by maritime time balls, which dropped at a set hour so observers could check their clocks. The Times Square version transformed that practical signal into a public entertainment event with music, speeches, confetti, and a countdown.
People sometimes say that the ball drops “at midnight,” which is understandable because midnight is the moment it completes its descent. More precisely, the drop begins at 11:59 p.m.; the new year arrives when the clock reaches 12:00 a.m. The ceremony follows Eastern Time in New York City.