With New Year's Eve around the corner, I wanted to find a odd traditions about the night of celebration.

Whether it's watching the ball drop at Times Square, getting a kiss a midnight, sucking down a glass of champagne, or even falling asleep, New Year's Eve is steep in traditions. In the United States, NYE is the fourth most popular holiday, after Christmas, Thanksgiving, and Independence Day.

According to Wallethub, 49% of American's plan to celebrate at home. 18% have plans to celebrate at a friends place. 23% plan to do nothing special to celebrate the arrival of the new year.

My son and I usually hit the Waterloo Black Hawks game on New Year's Eve, then we return home and watch movies & play games until dear ole dad (I.E. me) says he's off to bed, usually about 30 minutes after the new year arrives. If I'm lucky.

Here's something that never crossed my mind, 48% parents plan to countdown the last 10 seconds by 9:00 PM (Wallethub). I suppose to let the younger kids in on the tradition. I do remember the first year my son made it to midnight. He was so proud, but he was asleep about five minutes later.

If you do plan to watch the events from Times Square, think about this when the ball drops. That shiny ball covered with those Waterford Crystals weights about the same as three pick-up trucks (11,000+ pounds).

If you're looking for a new tradition to try out, here are few suggestions from around the world.

In Ecuador, they burn a scarecrow. The man of straw represents all the bad juju from the past year. Burning it at midnight is supposed to help cleanse the soul (Boston.com).

In South America, the color of your underwear is supposed to dictate how the new year will go for you.  Red underwear means you’ll find love. Gold means wealth, and white signifies peace (List25.com).

A less revealing wardrobe option is to wear polka dots. In the Philippines, the circle represents prosperity (USA Today).

And here's one from the creepy side of the tradition scale. In Chile, families will spend the night in a cemetery where their loved ones are buried (List25.com). No thank you. A photo album work just fine for me and my memory train.

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