New Year's Eve or Old Year's Night is on 31 December, the final day of the Gregorian year, and the day before New Year's Day. New Year's Eve is a separate observance from the observance of New Year's Day. In modern Western practice, New Year's Eve is celebrated with parties and social gatherings spanning the transition of the year at midnight.
Many cultures use fireworks and other forms of noise making in part of the celebration. New Year's Eve is observed universally on 31 December according to the year numbering of the Common Era, or A.D. Anno Domini convention, even in non-Christian nations. New Year's Eve is also the seventh day of Christmas in western Christianity. Traditional and religious celebrations for e.g. the Chinese, Muslim and Jewish new year, which occur on different dates, are still celebrated separately in the cultures that observe them, on the appropriate dates each year.
While many people go to parties to celebrate New Year's Eve, according to a recent survey, 62% stay at home. Seven percent do not celebrate New Year's Eve at all, though a proportion of those may well tune in to the live tv broadcasts from the comfort of their homes. (From: Wikipedia, license: CCA-SA)
