Good morning. It's Saturday, Dec. 27. Welcome to this week's Society & Culture newsletter. First time reading? Sign up here or click here to share with friends. |
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In anticipation of Wednesday night's festivities, we have a special themed edition today. First up is an exploration of New Year's Eve, including its history and traditions. Then we have two topics that might find their way into your plans for New Year's Eve: Champagne and cheese. Even if you're a lactose-intolerant teetotaler, we think there's more than enough fascinating detail about their history to pore over.
Thank you for a great year of the newsletter! This is usually where I ask for feedback in the form of an email, but I'm instead taking the opportunity to express my gratitude. We're a few months shy of our one-year anniversary, but I'm still immensely thankful for your readership, your thoughtful notes, and your incredible brains. Thank you—and Happy New Year!
—Kevin Kearney, 1440 Society & Culture Section Editor |
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New Year's Eve, 101
New Year’s Eve is an international celebration that takes place Dec. 31 to recognize the start of a new Gregorian calendar year. Celebrations typically take place in the evening and run through midnight, with the most common traditions unfolding as the year passes from one to the next. (See a list of the best American New Year's Eve drops.)
The holiday’s roots can be traced back to ancient Babylon and its celebration of the vernal equinox, marked by an 11-day celebration of the new year’s arrival. The Julian calendar established Jan. 1 as the beginning of the new year.
Many New Year’s Eve traditions—including making resolutions, kissing at midnight, and singing “Auld Lang Syne”—evolved from folk celebrations and became more formalized with the rise of mass media.
Also, check out ...
> The world-famous Times Square New Year's Eve celebration began as a party for The New York Times. (Read)
> The midnight ball drop was based on a maritime navigational tool. (Read)
> One Georgia town holds a midnight "possum drop" on New Year's Eve. (Watch)
> Poet Robert Burns published "Auld Lang Syne" as an attempt to preserve the Scots language. (Read)
Explore everything else we've found on New Year's Eve. |
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A beginner's guide to Champagne
The eponymous sparkling wine from (and only from) Champagne, France, is an instant signifier of luxury and celebration, showing up everywhere from royal coronations to rap videos.
The bubbly beverage is governed by strict regulations in addition to geographical restrictions. It can contain juice from only eight permitted varieties of grapes, including pinot noir, pinot meunier, and chardonnay, and it must follow the “méthode campenoise,” in which a secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle, producing the famous fizz.
Champagne’s signature bubbles were considered a flaw up until the 17th century. However, British nobility enjoyed the innovation and brightness of the bubbles and Champagne grew in popularity in England over the next century. Champagne sales have quadrupled since 1950, and the market is expected to hit $12.9B by 2032.
Also, check out ...
> There's a legal loophole in California allowing some winemakers to label their bottles "Champagne." (Read)
> Champagne was a political tool in the Soviet Union. (Read)
> See how Champagne is made, from start to finish. (Watch)
> Dom Pérignon, a 17th-century French monk, is often inaccurately credited with inventing Champagne. (Read)
Explore everything else we've found on Champagne. |
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A brief history of cheese
From paneer in India to Parmigiano-Reggiano in Italy, people across the globe love cheese in all its more than 1,000 varieties. Made by introducing bacteria and enzymes into milk, cheese is packed with protein, calcium, and vitamins. (See how it's made.)
The advent of cheese likely coincided with the domestication of livestock around 8,000 BCE in the Middle East. Over time, cheesemaking evolved to include techniques like smoking and aging.
In 2022, the average American ate nearly 40 pounds of cheese, but the world’s most voracious cheese-eaters were in Switzerland, where the average citizen consumed nearly 52 pounds of the delicious dairy product. Cheese was not often found in East Asian or African cuisine until the 20th century. European imperialism and globalization, however, have since made it increasingly popular.
Also, check out ...
> Ancient Romans helped develop modern cheese production techniques. (Read)
> A medieval fable was the first to say the moon was made of cheese. (Read)
> Some people in Italy enjoy a cheese with live maggots in it. (Watch)
> Serbian donkey cheese is the most expensive cheese in the world. (Watch)
Explore everything else we've found on cheese. |
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Beyond our weekly deep dives, we love finding great takes on the culture currently shaping our lives. Here are some of the best reactions, profiles, and think pieces we encountered this week.
> Why Some Books Become Blockbusters
The Guardian | Emma Loffhagen. Magazine profiles and glowing reviews no longer guarantee literary success. Yet some titles still break through, with a rare few becoming impossible to avoid. Loffhagen uses some of 2025's buzziest books as case studies of the new alchemy behind bestsellers. (Read)
> How Artists Ride the Market Rollercoaster
Artnet | Devorah Lauter. The immediate post-COVID years were a good time for artists, with galleries and independent buyers eager to spend. More recently, though, the trend has reversed. Lauter interviews several working artists to understand how they're coping with that new reality. (Read)
> The Last Good Thing
The American Scholar | Jess Love. Tired of endless streaming subscriptions and intrigued by a free trove of DVDs, Love takes a nostalgic plunge into the outdated medium. What she finds is a comforting retreat from the internet—a digital innovation that, by her calculation, actually improved our lives. (Read)
> Everything Is Steakhouse Now
Eater | Bettina Makalintal. Although the 2010s and early 2020s saw fewer people eating red meat, the momentum has now swung in the opposite direction, with vegetarian spots closing and hip new restaurants slinging beef. Makalintal makes sense of the sudden shift by unpacking the steakhouse's resurgence. (Read)
> The Best Shots of 2025
The Ringer | Adam Nayman. Rather than simply ranking the year's best movies, Nayman gets granular, breaking down the most arresting images from the year's films. There's no talk of performances or narratives; instead, you get a hyper-focused deep dive into the nuances of modern cinematography. (Read) |
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In partnership with Doctors Without Borders |
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Doctors Without Borders Needs Your Support |
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Now more than ever, your support is crucial to ensure Doctors Without Borders can continue providing lifesaving humanitarian aid to people who are displaced by violence, vulnerable to disease outbreaks like malaria and cholera, or impacted by a lack of essential nutrition, water, and sanitation services.
Doctors Without Borders does not accept US government funding, but many of the organizations they work alongside do. In the face of widespread cuts to humanitarian aid, they continue to provide lifesaving care at no cost to patients, but they can’t do this work without you. Donate today. |
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“[New Year's Eve is] a time of restrospection, of thinking, and of joy.” |
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