{"id":20,"date":"2009-01-06T11:56:00","date_gmt":"2009-01-06T16:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/2009\/01\/06\/january-7-14-2009-dropping-the-ball-on-new-year%e2%80%99s-night\/"},"modified":"2009-01-06T11:56:00","modified_gmt":"2009-01-06T16:56:00","slug":"january-7-14-2009-dropping-the-ball-on-new-year%e2%80%99s-night","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/january-7-14-2009-dropping-the-ball-on-new-year%e2%80%99s-night\/","title":{"rendered":"January 7-14, 2009 – Dropping the ball on New Year\u2019s night"},"content":{"rendered":"
Warm-up Question:<\/span><\/strong> If you are already baptized, do you remember the date and place? Who were your sponsors?<\/span><\/div>\n

In New York City, the first-ever Times Square celebration on New Year\u2019s Eve occurred in 1904. Originally named Longacre Square, the name was changed after the New York Times opened their new headquarters in that district. The Times Tower was the second-tallest building in Manhattan at the time, anchoring the intersection of Broadway, 7th Avenue and 42nd Street.<\/span>
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The owner of the Times newspaper spared no expense in preparing a spectacular New Year\u2019s Eve celebration. After a full-day street festival, fireworks were set off and at midnight over 200,000 people cheered with noisemakers of all kinds. The celebration could be heard nearly thirty miles north on the shores of the Hudson River. The entire building remained lit up for the evening and the area quickly replaced former gathering places while capturing the attention of the nation and the world.<\/span>
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At the end of 1907 when New York banned the fireworks display, the owner of the Times arranged to have an iron and wood ball that weighed nearly 700 pounds lowered from the buildings flag pole at midnight to signal the transition from 1907 to 1908. For nearly 100 years, the same sign making company has been responsible for the lowering of the ball. Even after the New York Times outgrew Times Tower in 1914 and moved to West 43rd Street, the celebration in Times Square continued to grow as a part of America\u2019s cultural fabric.<\/span><\/div>\n

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While the original building has been stripped down and transformed into another company\u2019s headquarters, the celebration of New Year\u2019s Eve in Times Square has continued to draw international attention. With modern technology, it is estimated that over one billion people watch the ceremony every year. The lowering of the ball has become an international tradition as people welcome the new year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Discussion Questions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n