Among the nearly 3,000 waterford crystal triangles that make up the Times Square New Year’s ball, 192 of them have a more tropical motif: the pineapple.
For the past seven years, the Times Square Alliance and Waterford Crystal, which design and manufacture the ball triangles, have introduced a theme as part of their 10-year series “Greatest Gift,” and while it may seem strange including the prickly fruit of one of New York City’s top winter icons has a deeper meaning. During the colonial era, the pineapple was traded as a symbol of goodwill and hospitality. In more recent times, they have become a common symbol found on wallpaper and home decor, although they retain that meaning.
For 2021, the theme is “The Gift of Goodwill”. Pineapples should represent a gift of goodwill, concern, and support for others, according to Tom Brennan, the master craftsman at Fiskars Living.
“It’s all about benevolence and generosity,” Brennan said at the ball presentation Friday. “The pineapple has been a symbol of generosity and goodwill for centuries. We want everyone this year with goodwill to pause for a moment, seek the good of people and the good in situations, because what we can achieve is illiterate. limited when we work together “.
The ball itself, which looks small on TV and at a distance as we pass Times Square, is actually 12 feet in diameter and weighs nearly 6,000 pounds (or 6 tons). This year they will be lit with 32,256 red, blue, green and white LED lights that will make up more than 16 million vibrant colors and billions of patterns.
Waterford Crystal, based in Ireland, needs a full year to design and manufacture the triangles, Brennan explained.
“You’re talking about a love job,” he told us. “It’s an annual process and it can take weeks and months to achieve perfection. You have your eyes on the world: there are about 200 million people looking here in the United States, 1.2 billion worldwide and a million more here in Times Square, then, is there no pressure? Not bad for a small Irish town. Let’s take a day off on the first of January and start the process everywhere. “
He said that when the “Best Gift” series is over, the ball will be a “patchwork quilt of these amazing patterns, symbols, communications and feelings.” The last year, 2023, will be the “gift of love”.
Watch the ball on New Year’s Eve in Times Square if you plan to face the crowds. Performances by Post Malone, BTS and others will begin at 6 p.m.