The symbolic clock face is meant to convey how close we are to total destruction.  It was created back in 1947 following the US atomic drops on Japan, and was set initially to 11:53pm.  (FYI, it’s now 11:55pm.) It’s been reset 18 times since then.  The closest we’ve been to midnight was 11:58pm in 1953, as the Cold War was really cranking. The ceremony is beginning now (7am PT) and you can watch it at this website.  Just as long as nothing explodes before the 27th of January, we’re cool. Update: We gained a minute.  Whew.