Editing Countdown

The holiday is analogous with the real world holiday of the same name. The villagers in the town will get excited about this event and how they celebrate it varies in all the different ''Animal Crossing'' games. Traditionally in many western countries, people sing "Auld Lang Syne," translated from Scots as "Times Gone By," which the villagers will sing in {{DnM}}.

In {{NH}}, there is an island broadcast on December 31 announcing that it is the last day of the year. A countdown clock, lights, and balloons will appear on the Resident Services plaza. Isabelle will hand out {{I|Light Stick|NH}}s, and [[Tom Nook]] will offer five {{I|Party Popper|NH}}s for free and will sell either the {{I|New Year's Hat|NH}} or the {{I|New Year's Silk Hat|NH}}. Each hat variation cycles through every four years, though others can be obtained on other islands. Throughout the day, Resident Services is closed, and [[group stretching]] will not be available.

At 11 PM, special hourly music will play, and villagers will get ready for the Countdown. At 11:30 PM, the music changes again, and villagers will head to the Resident Services plaza. During this time, if the player talks to a villager while wearing a New Year's Hat or Silk Hat after talking to them for the first time, the villager will notice they are not wearing a New Year's hat, and will put on a New Year's hat of their choosing. At 11:55 PM, every villager will pull out a Light Stick. When the clock has only 1 minute left, it will beep for every second until it reaches zero; the music during this time will fade when this occurs. At 30 seconds remaining, a new tone is added to the beep. During the last ten seconds, the beeps get very loud and another low tone is added to the beeps. The villagers present will wave Light Sticks in rhythm with the countdown while counting down in [[Animalese]]. When the clock reaches zero, a cutscene occurs where the town tune will play and fireworks will display the new year. Villagers and players alike will wave their Light Sticks around when the fireworks are launched. The player can also see the start of the fireworks while on [[Kapp'n]]'s [[boat tour]].<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf92tSB76a0</ref>

After the cutscene, a fireworks show begins, and villagers (holding their Light Sticks) will be dancing along to the town tune, occasionally waving their light stick or using a party popper. The fireworks show continues until 2 AM, when it will stop and the music switches to a calmer version of the earlier New Year's music. All villagers will stop dancing and will leave the plaza. Isabelle and Tom Nook will still hand out Light Sticks and sell Party Poppers and hats, respectively.

In addition to the event itself, several [[Nook Shopping seasonal event|seasonal items]] are sold via [[Nook Shopping]] from December 22 to December 31{{Note|Prior to [[Animal Crossing: New Horizons/Update history/2.0|version 2.0]], these items were available from December 26 to December 31.}} to celebrate New Year's Eve in various regions. The items include the {{I|New Year's Noodles|NH}}, {{I|Berliner|NH}}, {{I|Twelve-Grape Dish|NH}}, and since {{NHVer|1.6.0}}, the {{I|Olivier Salad|NH}} and {{I|Sparkling Cider|NH}}. If it is the player's first time celebrating New Year's in the game, they will complete the Nook Miles achievement '''Countdown Celebration''' and earn 1,000 [[Nook Miles]] when the countdown reaches zero.