It’s New Year’s Day! Which means bell ringing is in full swing for the National Bell Festival. Across five continents and thousands of bells, we’re ringing in the New Year like never before.
We hope you have the opportunity to throw open your window and hear the bells chime, or to visit a carillon in your area for a remarkable performance on bells. Or maybe you’ll be joining us on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to pay tribute to the 160th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. However you choose to celebrate, we hope today is the start of a wonderful year ahead for you.
Celebrating the New Year
For much of the world (especially those that follow the Gregorian calendar), New Year’s Day on January 1 is one of the most celebrated holidays. Enjoying time off from work, watching a firework show, counting down to midnight, and making New Year’s resolutions are all part of the fun. Just ask someone from Spain why they’re eating all those grapes!
Here at the National Bell Festival, we take the New Year very seriously – because we’re charged with ringing it in! It’s a privilege and responsibility that we don’t take lightly. Each year, we host a festival dedicated to the art and appreciation of bell ringing. From handbell ensembles to change ringing groups, and from carillonists to campanologists, we bring the good vibrations.
What about the other 364 days?
Our focus on the New Year doesn’t mean we sit idly by during the rest of the year. In fact, we spend much of our time raising funds to restore and preserve bells of historic, national, or community importance. On New Year’s Day, we celebrate those successes, with more and more bells ringing in the New Year each and every year.
Want to get in on the action? Consider becoming a Bell Raiser, our group of bell enthusiasts that gets up close and personal with historic bells, visits bell foundries, climbs bell towers, and helps us resonate our mission louder and farther. Here’s to a peaceful, cheerful, and wonderful year ahead. Now, let’s make it ring!
