Greg Young from the Bowery Boys here. While Carl's off enjoying some peppermint tea in a

wintry cottage somewhere, I thought I'd help us all ring in the new year with a little

New Year's history in this classic episode of the Bowery Boys podcast. While the city most

famously celebrates New Year's Eve in Times Square and has done so since the year 1904,

there were many different variations of that celebration in New York City during the 19th century,

before there even was a Times Square, from the church bells at Trinity Church to the drunken New Year's Day visitations of Old New York.

But that's not the whole story either, because we cannot forget the Chinese New Year and the annual parade which has wound itself down Tani Mott Street in Chinatown for almost 150 years.

Making it a longer running tradition than even the Midtown Manhattan Party.

So pop open the champagne as we raise a toast to a new year in old New York, from Times Square to Chinatown. I'm A

Oh,

Oh,

Mm-hmm

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Oh Okay, Tom, the time has come.

Where are we starting this show?

Obviously, it's in Times Square, right?

Well, we could start in Times Square, say, on December 31st, 1904, for the first big celebration

that took place in Times Square proper, but I don't want to, Greg.

We can't start this story there, because that's starting way too late.

For by 1904, New York had experienced centuries of celebrating New Year's.

Right. So instead of starting at the beginning of time, though, we're more exactly, more precisely in the story I was starting.

...