1. First Night celebration - December 31, 1975, saw the birth of First Night, a New Year's Eve celebration of the arts. The event was organized in Boston to provide an alternative to traditional revelry with family-friendly and alcohol-free activities.

2. The Boston Tea Party - December 31, 1773, was a pivotal date in American history as it was the day when colonists disguised as Indians dumped tea shipments from three British ships into Boston harbor. The act was a protest against the Tea Act of 1773 that increased taxes on American importers of tea.

3. The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere - December 31, 1775, was the night when Paul Revere set out on his famous "midnight ride" from Boston to Lexington and Concord. Revere's mission was to warn the colonial militia of British troop movements and to alert patriot leaders, including Samuel Adams and John Hancock, that they were in danger of arrest.

4. The Great Blizzard of 1872 - December 31, 1872, marked the end of a two-day blizzard that paralyzed Boston under two feet of snow. The storm was so severe that trains were stranded, streetcars stopped running, and people had to dig tunnels to get out of their homes.

5. New Year's Eve Celebrations - In Boston and other parts of Massachusetts, New Year's Eve is celebrated with various traditions. One is the annual plunge into the frigid waters of the Boston Harbor, known as the L Street Brownies Plunge. Another is the raising of a silver and gold cod, an iconic symbol of the city's fishing industry, onto a flagpole in Christopher Columbus Park. The cod raising ceremony is accompanied by a colorful parade and other festivities.