The Friends of Philipse Manor Hall will host an Old New Year”™s Eve Celebration on Friday, March 24, from 6:30. to 9 p.m. at Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site, 29 Warburton Ave., Yonkers.
Today, New Year”™s Day is Jan. 1, but it wasn”™t always. From the 16th century to the 18th century, European nations were transitioning from the old Julian calendar to the new Gregorian calendar. Although the Dutch and most other European nations had adopted the new calendar in 1582, the English held onto the old ways much longer. They continued to celebrate Annunciation Day, or Lady Day, March 25 as the New Year until 1752. In the colony of New Netherland, founded in the 1620s, the New Year was Jan. 1. But when the British took over in 1664, it changed to March 25.
Join the evening celebration featuring a short historical overview of the calendar history and traditions by Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site Manager Michael Lord, followed by live music by Carla and Keyes, dancing, a faux New Year”™s Eve countdown, hors d”™oeuvres and 18th century-inspired punch.
Hosted by the Friends of Philipse Manor Hall, tickets for this event are $25 for Friends members and $35 for the general public; tickets include refreshments. For reservations, visit friendsofphilipsemanorhall.org/events/old-new-years-eve-celebration.
Dating back to the 1680s, Philipse Manor Hall State Historic Site was used by four generations of the Philipse family and worked by the people they enslaved and European tenant farmers. It was once over 200,000 acres and helped make the Philipse family the richest in New York. Loyalists during the American Revolution, they fled to England and the Hall was owned by several individuals before becoming the Yonkers Village Hall and later Yonkers City Hall. When a new City Hall was built in the early 20th century, the house was preserved through the generosity of Eva Smith Cochran and donated to New York state to serve as a historic site.
