Photo: Library of Congress
New Year’s celebrations have been going on for a long, long time. But we’ve only been able to get photographic proof of it since the late 1800s. Taking a look at the Library of Congress’ extensive collection of historic photographs, we found some fun examples of the ways we used to get down on New Year’s Eve.
From the mundane to Philadelphia’s famous Mummers Parade, pictures from 1876 to the 1940s show how things have changed and how they have stayed the same.
1907: New Year's Eve celebration at Restaurant Martin in New York City. Things have gotten livelier!

1909: The annual Mummers Parade in Philadelphia is one of the oldest folk festivals in America. Here is the parade in 1909.

1942: The DiCostanzo family (Mr. and Mrs. DiCostanzo pictured here) owned a restaurant on Mulberry Street in New York City. They held an annual family dinner at their restaurant on New Year's eve.

Just because there is a party doesn't mean they can't make some meatball subs for a couple of takeout customers.

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