Regional New Year's Eve holiday traditions
 Newfoundland mummering
If you happen to be in Newfoundland this New Year's Eve and a band of masked strangers knock on your door, by all means let them in.
Mummering, a tradition in which groups of people dress up in costumes and pay surprise visits to their friends and neighbours during the holidays, has enjoyed a resurgence on the island in recent years. It's part of an ever-changing patchwork quilt of holiday customs in Canada.
It is definitely one of the most colourful.
Groups of mummers dress up in garish homemade costumes that hide their identity, and pay surprise visits to the homes of friends and neighbours. By tradition, the gypsy-like bands of merrymakers knock on the door and shout out "any mummers allowed in?"
They typically sing and dance in the homes they visit and the 'host,' in turn, is obligated to provide Christmas sweets and drinks, and will attempt to guess the identity of the masked guests.
Collingwood torchlight parade
Though perhaps less steeped in history, Collingwood, Ont.'s Blue Mountain ski resort has developed its own tradition over the past decade, with a torchlight parade on the night before New Year's Eve -- helping kick off the end-of-year festivities.
The family event begins in the afternoon but culminates after dark when skiers form a long line and wind their way down the escarpment carrying lit torches and glow sticks.
"It's a really brilliant display coming down the hill," said Kelly O'Neill, a spokesperson for the resort.
The parade participants are greeted at the base of the slope by fire dancers and drummers.
"It creates really a magical atmosphere at the base, and the parade itself is really spectacular," O'Neill told CTV.ca, saying the event draws families from around the province.
Many Canadians meet with small groups of friends and families to watch the ball drop in Times Square on television and toast champagne, while others opt for community gatherings that draw people together for skating parties, fireworks displays and general merrymaking.
Edmonton's downtown drink free bash
In Edmonton, Alta., the annual event, New Year's Eve Downtown, draws up to 40,000 people each year and is billed as Western Canada's largest New Year's party. The alcohol-free event includes everything from skating to a street dance to fireworks and "strolling entertainers."
"People huddle together and they have hot chocolate and it's very festive and people have a good time. The true spirit comes out at midnight when total strangers begin hugging each other -- it's very festive," said Giuseppe Albi, general manager of Events Edmonton, the not-for-profit group that puts on the event.
"The fact that you get 25 to 30,000 people out in very cold weather to celebrate, is very Albertan."
On the other hand, some prefer a good old fashioned stripped down rock-and-roll show. Namely, Reilly McLaren, a pastor from Barrie, Ont. in his early '20s.
Barriefest
His annual tradition is to make his way to Barrie's city hall to ring in the new year with whatever band has been brought in to perform. In recent years the roster has included Jim Cuddy and Glass Tiger. This year it boasts an East Coast rock flavour with Nova Scotia's The Trews.
"I do like to hear a good rock band on New Year's Eve for some reason, and I see why a lot of bars will bring in a band to play on New Year's Eve," he told CTV.ca. "There is just something cool about having the music. There's sort of a Celtic celebration to it, having the music and the party to ring in the New Year."
McLaren's Christmas Eve tradition is a little more unique. For years, he and a friend have spent the evening visiting people who have to work while most people are home with loved ones.
"We would go and find anyone working on Christmas at 11, 12, one in the morning, go in make small talk, and we'd ask, if you could have anything in the store what would it be, and they'd say oh this magazine, or this drink, and then we'd buy it for them."
Driving the drunks, driving the dogsleds
In locations across Canada, volunteers with Operation Red Nose take a break from their own merrymaking to spend much of the holiday season, and New Year's Eve in particular, shuttling tipsy passengers home from various celebrations.
The free service was designed to reduce the number of drunk drivers on the roads during the holiday season, and volunteering with the program has become an annual tradition for many.
Markham's drive-home service
Bob Tisdale, president and chief operating officer of Pembridge Insurance Company in Markham, Ont. has volunteered with the drive-home service, along with members of his staff, for the past two years and is well on the way to becoming an annual tradition.
He believes in the cause for two reasons.
"Personally, my sister was killed by a drunk driver so I have a personal interest in it," he told CTV.ca.
"And secondly, we see the claims, we see the turmoil and we see the carnage that's caused by drunk drivers, both from the standpoint of the victims and the people that are driving. Anything we can do to stop that from occurring I just think is a good thing."
B.C. ferrying
One enterprising party host in British Columbia is seeking out her own drive-home service to ferry party guests home on New Year's.
In an ad posted on the online classified service Craigslist, the Vancouver resident said she was hoping to provide an "alternative transport option" for her guests and was willing to pay $105 plus $55 for gasoline to anyone with a minivan willing to spend their evening, from 8:30 p.m. to 3:30 a.m., driving people home from his party.
"I will make it clear to all guests that gratuities are expected," the ad reads.
The poster, 38-year-old Thyrza Segal, told CTV.ca she had received about 10 responses, and had eventually hired a driver with a spotless 30-year record and a mini-van, as a result of the ad.
"I felt it would be a good thing to hire a driver to make the party more accessible for my guests on New Year's Eve. If it rains in Vancouver the cab companies don't even pick up the phone," she wrote in an email -- which included an invitation to the party.
Toronto resident Alex Smith has experienced his fair share of "over hyped" New Year's Eves. The most memorable one, he said, involved getting away from it all and getting close to nature.
"No one could make up their mind about what they were doing, so we said screw it, let's go dog sledding," Smith told CTV.ca.
Smith and his wife travelled to Haliburton, Ont., where they went 'mushing' with a group of about 10 other people they met at the resort that organizes the outing.
After learning how to operate the sled and guide the dogs, they set out on a trail and eventually travelled across a frozen lake where they gathered with others for a bonfire, a hearty meal and hot chocolate to ring in the New Year.
"It's definitely a very cool experience to be one with nature, one with the elements, one with the animals," he said.
"It's absolutely probably the coolest thing I've done for New Year's. I think New Year's tends to be over-hyped -- we've got to do something special, we've got to get dressed up, we've got to spend a lot of money -- it's just another day and if you can gather friends and family to do something different, that's the one they're really going to remember."
Of course, along with the colourful array of unique New Year's customs in Canada, there are also those who stick with the time honoured but simple tradition of consuming too much alcohol and stumbling home in the wee hours.
- Andy Johnson
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