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Seasonal & Holidays

New year Word Search

This new year word search hides words like fireworks, party, midnight to find. Play it free online or print the PDF with the answer key, a handy new year vocabulary activity.

10 words · 11×11 grid · Medium · Answer key included · Free printable PDF

Seasonal & Holidays
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Tap the first and last letter of a word — or use arrow keys and Enter. Dragging works too.

  • FIREWORKS
  • COUNTDOWN
  • CELEBRATE
  • MIDNIGHT
  • CONFETTI
  • CALENDAR
  • SPARKLER
  • BALLOON
  • FESTIVE
  • PARTY
🎉 Solved — all 10 words found!

Print this New year word search

Did you know?

fireworks
China invented fireworks over a thousand years ago, first burning bamboo stalks whose loud cracks were believed to scare off evil spirits.
party
Many cultures wear special colors for the New Year: in Brazil, people dress in white for peace and luck.
midnight
Midnight is not one global moment; the planet greets the new year in waves, starting near Kiribati in the Pacific.
balloon
Early balloons were made from animal bladders; the rubber toy balloon arrived in 1824, invented by London scientist Michael Faraday.
confetti
The word confetti comes from Italian for little sweets, because Italians once tossed candied almonds, then plaster pellets, before paper took over.
calendar
Our New Year falls on January 1 thanks to Julius Caesar, who reset the Roman calendar in 46 BC to honor Janus.
countdown
The famous ten-second countdown is fairly modern, spread by radio and television as crowds learned to chant along with the falling ball.
sparkler
A sparkler burns near 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, hot enough to scorch skin, which is why they are held at arm's length.
celebrate
The earliest known New Year celebrations were held about 4,000 years ago in ancient Babylon, and lasted eleven days each spring.
festive
The Scottish word Hogmanay names their festive New Year, when a tradition called first-footing welcomes a dark-haired visitor for good luck.
banner
Janus, the Roman namesake of January, was shown with two faces on banners and coins: one looking back, one looking ahead.
streamer
Paper streamers thrown from ships, called serpentine, became a port farewell custom and later a staple of New Year and parade decoration.
resolution
New Year promises are ancient: Babylonians vowed to repay debts and return borrowed objects to start the year with a clean slate.

Trivia

  1. Which city's Times Square ball drop is among the most watched New Year events, first held in 1907?

    New York City.

  2. In Spain, people traditionally eat twelve of which fruit, one at each chime of midnight, for luck?

    Grapes.

  3. The New Year song Auld Lang Syne came from a poem by which Scottish poet?

    Robert Burns.

  4. January is named for Janus, a Roman god usually shown with how many faces?

    Two.

  5. Which Lunar New Year, celebrated across much of Asia, follows a twelve-animal zodiac cycle?

    The Chinese New Year.

Trivia · 1 / 5
Which city's Times Square ball drop is among the most watched New Year events, first held in 1907?
New York City.

In their words

We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day.

Edith Lovejoy Pierce

For last year's words belong to last year's language and next year's words await another voice.

T. S. Eliot

Is this new year word search free to print?

This new year word search is a free printable puzzle with 10 hidden words in an 11×11 grid. Find words like FIREWORKS, COUNTDOWN, CELEBRATE hidden across, down, and diagonally. You can play it right here in your browser — tap the first and last letter of a word — or download it as a printable PDF with the full answer key on page two. It's free for personal and classroom use, so teachers can print copies for a whole class with no sign-up and no account. Word searches like this one are a proven way to build vocabulary, spelling, and word-shape recognition, which is why they're a favourite with ESL learners, elementary classrooms, and anyone who likes a quiet puzzle with their coffee.

Print this New year word search
Printable New year Word Search — 10 words, Answer key included

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Sources: First Times Square ball drop, 1907 (Smithsonian) · Britain adopts the Gregorian calendar, 1752 (History Today) · Auld Lang Syne origin (Britannica) · Spain's twelve grapes tradition (Food Republic)

Word list, facts & trivia researched and compiled by Sam Letterman — spotted a mistake? Tell us and we’ll fix it.