"Our Banner in the Sky," 1861, by Frederic Edwin Church. Oil on paper. Public DomainAmericans in the early 1770s toasted the New Year in a variety of fashions. In some locales, for instance, young ladies banded together on New Year’s Eve, heated up bowls or pots of cider, ale, or wine flavored with spices like ginger and cinnamon, and shared this wassail with friends and neighbors. Chocolate drinks were also popular, so much so that Thomas Jefferson once predicted they would replace coffee and tea as favorites.

In Philadelphia, troupes of costumed men and women, called mummers, celebrated New Year’s Day by going door-to-door, singing, dancing, and clowning around in hopes of receiving refreshment or money. Exchanging small gifts on New Year’s and simply visiting with friends and neighbors were also common.

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