Straight Key Night is held every January 1 from 0000 UTC through 2359 UTC.
This 24-hour event is not a contest; rather it is a day dedicated to celebrating our CW heritage. Participants are encouraged to get on the air and simply make enjoyable, conversational CW QSOs. The use of straight keys or bugs to send CW is preferred. There are no points scored and all who participate are winners.
It’s a great opportunity for new hams or hams learning CW to get on the air with other similar hams. The pace tends to be much slower than the average CW contest and 25 WPM firehose blasters.
Logging is encouraged but not required and log submissions are optional.
More info: http://www.arrl.org/straight-key-night