DROPS: In New York City’s Times Square, a ball is dropped to signify the first moment of the new year. In Bradford, we’ve dropped a gazebo during our First Night ceremonies.

According to the Pennsylvania Tourism Office, towns across Pennsylvania have joined others in finding an iconic object to drop from the sky at the start of 2017. The agency has shared “a sampling of Pennsylvania’s unique drops.”

This includes a wrench drop in Mechanicsburg, which is a “tradition that commemorates the borough’s founders — mechanics who settled in the area to make and repair wagons in the early 19th century,” the tourism office states.

Meanwhile, in McClure, folks “watch the lowering of the cast-iron kettle at midnight in honor of the historic McClure Bean Soup Festival and Fair Celebration.”

A stainless steel mushroom is used to celebrate the new year in Kennett Square, which the office says is the “Mushroom Capital of the World.”

In Pittsburgh, “The ‘Future of Pittsburgh’ ball is a 1,000-pound, illuminated orb made entirely of recycled materials, symbolizing Pittsburgh’s continuous efforts to be a ‘green’ city.”

Carlisle held a contest asking people to submit designs for a button to be dropped at midnight. According to the tourism office, “The final result is 50-pound, aluminum-framed button that is accented with LED lights.”

A 10-foot sled dropped in Duncannon “is a model of the famous Lightning Guider sled manufactured at the Standard Sled Factory in Duncannon from 1904 until 1990.”

Some places drop objects celebrating locally made treats, including a Marshmallow Peep in Bethlehem, a Yuengling beer bottle in Pottsville and a Hershey’s Kiss in Hershey, the tourism office says.

Meanwhile, some places drop items that seem to poke fun at their town names, such as Dillsburg, which drops a pickle; Beavertown, which drops a beaver; and Lebanon, which drops a 16-foot Lebanon Bologna — “a famous Pennsylvania Dutch treat.”

In Harrisburg, they drop a strawberry.

Lancaster and York each drop roses — red and white, respectively — to symbolize the War of the Roses between the two cities — in England. The House of York and the House of Lancaster battled for the English throne in the 1400s.

What I want to know is, why do we celebrate New Year’s Day by dropping things from the sky?