“Auld Lang Syne” traditionally follows midnight at many New Year's Eve celebrations worldwide.
The song is based on a Scots poem associated with Robert Burns, who wrote down and adapted traditional material in the eighteenth century. Its title refers to “old times' sake,” and its lyrics ask whether old acquaintances and shared memories should be forgotten. That theme made it well suited to a moment of farewell and renewal.
The melody and lyrics traveled beyond Scotland through emigrant communities, printed songbooks, social clubs, and later radio and television. By the twentieth century, English-speaking communities commonly used it at midnight on New Year's Eve, although it is also sung for departures and other endings.
People often know only the opening line and chorus, and performances vary widely. The song's worldwide role does not make it an official anthem of New Year's Eve; rather, it is a broadly adopted social tradition with regional versions and arrangements.