Whale watching on New Year’s? These are the most unique celebrations across the Americas
These New Year’s revelers celebrate the holiday a bit differently, from a sardine drop at midnight to lively street parades.
Junkanoo, a polychromatic burst of music, dance, storytelling, and parades practiced in the Bahamas, was recently inscribed on the 2023 UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. It’s the first intangible—a practice, skill, tradition, or craft—in the island nation recognized by the international cultural organization.
A Bahamian New Year tradition since the 18th century, Junkanoo revolves around pulsing street parades, enlivened by cowbells, whistles, horns, and goatskin drums. Many participants don bold outfits created in communal studios called “shacks,” where elders teach youths costume design, an experience considered a rite of passage. Parades are held annually on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day throughout the Bahamas—with the largest parade in Nassau, the capital city.
Junkanoo is among many unique New Year events across the Americas, from sinking sardines in Maine to illuminating firework shows in Aruba.
Here are four ways to celebrate the start of 2024 besides watching a ball drop in New York City’s Times Square.
Aruba: Klapchi viewings
In Aruba, vivid pyrotechnic shows called klapchi light the skies on New Year’s Eve. “Many times, neighbors will join forces to create one massive display,” says Emily Garcia, spokesperson for Aruba Tourism Authority.
Tourists aren’t allowed to set off fireworks at their hotels, but they can see memorable klapchi events at several resorts, including the Ritz-Carlton Aruba, Renaissance Wind Creek Aruba Resort, and Aruba Marriott Resort & Stellaris Casino.
Oregon: Whale watching
Gray whales, which migrate along the Oregon coast from mid-December to mid-January, create “a symbolic spectacle, representing the cyclical nature of life and renewal,” says Allison Keeney, Travel Oregon communications manager.
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From December 27 until January 1, volunteers staff 15 coastal locations to help visitors see the thousands of gray whales cruising south to warmer Mexican waters. Prime spots include Neahkahnie Mountain Overlook, Cape Meares Lighthouse, Boiler Bay State Scenic Viewpoint, Cape Foulweather, Umpqua Lighthouse, and the Whale Watching Center at Depoe Bay. Volunteers point out whales between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., explaining their migration and offering stickers and educational pamphlets. Visitors can also book a trip with Whale’s Tail Charters, Dockside Charters, or Tradewinds Charters to get a closer glimpse of the creatures.
Maine: Great Sardine Drop
At midnight each New Year’s Eve, New York City drops a ball in Times Square, and Key West lowers a conch shell amid revelers near the water in Florida.
But in tiny Eastport, Maine, an eight-foot-long illuminated sardine descends into the main square for revelers to kiss as the clock strikes 12. Fireworks and brass band music add to the spectacle for attendees, many of whom wear homemade sardine-shaped hats.
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The event pays tribute to Eastport’s rich fishing heritage. In the early 1900s, the island town near the Canadian border held 18 canneries. “Eastport became known as the sardine capital of the world,” says Hugh French, director of the Tides Institute & Museum of Art. Today, visitors can explore shops and galleries in the historic downtown or book windjammer cruises from the Eastport docks.
Missouri: La Guignolée
Missouri’s oldest town, Ste. Genevieve, was established in the 1730s by French settlers. Now, their descendants celebrate this heritage each December 31 with La Guignolée, an ancient French New Year’s wassailing or caroling custom, says Geoff Giglierano, director of the French Colonial America Museum in Ste. Genevieve. Troupes of costumed singers, dancers, and fiddlers perform in and around the 18th- and 19th-century buildings in this historic town an hour’s drive south of St. Louis.
These shows and their use of the local “Paw Paw French dialect” are proud vestiges of a distinctive culture created by previous settlers. “The continuing survival of French Creole stories, traditions, and architecture in Ste. Genevieve gives the town its unique character and appeal,” Giglierano says.
