New Year's sound of silence

Have you ever heard silence? Yes: silence. To hear "silence" is different than to hear "nothing". You hear silence when you are expecting to hear something, but instead you can't hear anything. That's exactly what happens to non-Americans in America during New Year.
In some big cities like New York, LA and San Francisco there are public celebrations (simple by any measure). However, most Americans celebrate at home, with a bottle of champagne and watching a movie. At midnight no music, no people on the street, put aside fireworks, which are forbidden in California. Silence.
What's missing here? Alas, the celebration of New Year should be very PC...