However you celebrate New Year's, don't do it with celebratory gunfire.
The West Palm Beach Police Department points out that while the practice of firing a gun into the air to celebrate may be culturally accepted in some countries, it's not only dangerous but illegal in Florida.
Spokesman Mike Jachles says that last 4th of July a West Palm Beach resident was hit by a stray bullet fired into the air while she watched fireworks from her car with her 13-year old daughter. Vernice Patterson sustained serious injuries but made a full recovery.
In a press release on Friday, Jachles says "Falling bullets can injure and kill. In fact, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted research that attributes 80 percent of injuries from celebratory gunfire to the head, shoulders and feet of those hit.
A bullet fired up in the air returns to ground at terminal velocity, which is less than muzzle velocity, but can still cause significant damage and injuries that can be fatal. Damage to property can also be caused by celebratory gunfire, most commonly when rounds become lodged in roofs, cars or other property on the ground."
He notes that additional officers will be on patrol this holiday and the agency will use its ShotSpotter technology to identify locations where shootings have occurred.
According to ShotSpotter, the risk of being killed when struck by celebratory gunfire is greater than a typical shooting, because of the increased likelihood of a penetrating skull injury.
Jachles says they have a zero tolerance policy for celebratory gunfire and that anyone arrested for the activity by the West Palm Beach PD will face the maximum charges.