What comes before 1/1

NYE

Think of the last big celebration before the calendar turns to January 1st, often marked with fireworks at midnight.

The clue plays on the date format where "1/1" represents January 1st (New Year’s Day). Since it asks what comes before that, the answer is "NYE," short for New Year’s Eve—the celebration held on December 31st. It’s a clever shorthand that relies on recognizing the holiday’s common abbreviation and the date sequence.