Social and Cultural History - Installment #1: New Year’s Eve Celebrations Around The U.S.

Chincoteague Island, Virginia "Horseshoe Drop - 2011/2012" 

Often we do not know specifically where these traditions started.  Some of them seem to have been planned as an excuse to have fun, and others are derived from the culture of the area.

Sometimes the basis behind them can be discovered through historical research,  resulting in a greater understanding of that area and those people.

All of the following New Year’s Eve Celebrations can serve as examples your students could investigate to engage in a bit of Cultural/Social History inquiry. Just frame it with guiding questions and ideas.  They may also discover an additional  interesting avenue for historical inquiry by analyzing WHERE most of these celebrations occur.

• Horseshoe Drop - Chincoteague Virginia (Challenge your students to discover why people on Chincoteague would focus on Horseshoes. Also why would the theme for the December 31st, 2012 celebration be Cowboys and Aliens? No, not the movie, and they should look for more than just a quick answer.)
• Climbing of Pike’s Peek - Started in 1922
• MoonPie Drop - Mobile, Alabama
• AcornDrop - Raleigh, North Carolina
• Croaker(fish) Drop - Oriental,  North Carolina
• WatchNights - African American Communities ( This is related to a yearning for emancipation immediately  preceding African-American slaves being set free.)
• TheDroppin’ of the Carp – Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin
• Midnight Muskrat Dive – Princess Anne, Maryland
• Pine Cone Drop – Flagstaff, Arizona
• Meteor Drop – Wetumpka, Alabama
• Duck Drop – Havre de Grace, Maryland
• Olive Drop – Bartlesville, Oklahoma
• Hog Drop – Fayetteville, Arkansas