Continuing a Lebanon tradition going back to 1997, the City of Lebanon celebrated the strike of midnight between 2023 and 2024 by dropping a 250-pound hunk of Lebanon bologna hung below a massive disco ball.
A block of South Eighth Street between Chestnut to Cumberland streets was closed for attendees to gather and watch the drop.
Mayor Sherry Capello estimated in an email to LebTown that between 600 and 700 people attended, lower than the usual 1,000 on account of the rain. The tradition, Capello said, ties Lebanon’s past to its present.
“This tradition strengthens our local identity as hard working, resourceful ‘immigrants’ who re-created and adapted their European traditions concerning sausage making into the farm life of the PA Dutch and ultimately the commercialization of the bologna into our local, regional and American cultures,” Capello explained. “Since the late 1700s when bologna making was first originated in Lebanon to today, the City has become home to many different cultures and foods.
“We share and enjoy these many different flavors of our City with each other and with our visitors.”
The Cool Beans Brews coffee truck was set up to keep attendees warm with coffee, hot cocoa, and more.
Music was also played leading up to the new year.
The bologna was the topic of a mild controversy this year, as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) asked the City of Lebanon to consider dropping vegan bologna instead, even offering to donate the meat alternative.
Capello responded to the request with a statement noting that Lebanon bologna is part of Lebanon’s history and culture.
“Bologna making is a part of our Lebanon heritage and we proudly stand by the tradition of dropping a bologna on New Year’s Eve as a way to celebrate our heritage, as we have done so for the past 27 years,” said Capello in a Facebook post.
The bologna, provided by Lebanon Valley’s own Seltzer’s Smokehouse Meats, was donated to the Lebanon Rescue Mission following the drop.
“What makes our drop unique is that the bologna is not just a symbol,” continued Capello in her statement to PETA. “After the drop, the food product is donated to a shelter and helps feed members of our community in need.”
Lebanon County Commissioner Jo Ellen Litz posted a video of the bologna dropping to Facebook.
The idea for a bologna drop in Lebanon was first suggested in 1995. The drop began in the turn of 1998 and has been a yearly tradition ever since.
Read More:
- The history of Lebanon’s Bologna Drop
- Dana Lape identifies himself as man behind Lebanon’s famous Bologna Drop
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