New Year's Eve / Day
Always observed on December 31 and January 1
| New Year’s Eve is the largest one-day party event of the year. |
| New Year’s cards help people reflect on the previous year and share the hope and possibilities of the coming year. |
| Thank you cards help people show appreciation and gratitude during the holidays. |
| “Auld Lang Syne” is the traditional song sung at the stroke of midnight on Jan. 1. The song, which means “old long since” or roughly “the good old days,” was written by poet Robert Burns in 1788. |
| Hallmark made its first New Year’s cards in 1915. |
2009 Product Features
- Hallmark offers more than 110 New Year card designs. This includes individual cards and multi-card packages. The line also includes thank-you cards for holiday gifts.
- More than half of the designs in the line this year are new, with new categories such as Cards With Sound, Shoebox humor cards, and popular licensed properties such as Thomas Kinkade.
- New Year’s cards help keep the holiday spirit alive for many people with celebratory, cheerful, and personal messages.
- Card designs include festive, celebratory themes and nature-oriented winter scenes. Editorial themes reflect peacefulness and new beginnings.
- The line includes both secular and religious cards, with some featuring inspirational tones, heartfelt messages and light-hearted humor.
- Party Express From Hallmark offers a full line of New Year paper partyware. The festive black, gold and silver pattern includes plates, cups, napkins, a table cover, cone hats, horns, and party invitations. A colorful polka-dot pattern features square plates. Humorous cocktail napkins also add life to the party.
Holiday History
New Year's Day is the oldest and most universal holiday. Throughout early history, annual harvests provided a primitive way to keep track of years. The end of the harvest marked the beginning of a new year. It was generally celebrated in March on the vernal equinox when the sun crosses the equator in the spring and when night and day are of equal length everywhere.
The Romans were the first to observe Jan. 1 as New Year's Day in 153 B.C., according to Hallmark research. Julius Caesar developed the Julian calendar in 45 B.C., retaining Jan. 1 as the beginning of the new year. In 1582, Pope Gregory XIII instituted the Gregorian calendar still in use today, keeping Jan. 1 as New Year's Day.
In Stores
Available at Hallmark Gold Crown® stores nationwide and wherever Hallmark products are sold. Use the store locator on Hallmark.com to find the nearest Hallmark Gold Crown store.