How the world is celebrating the New Year
From fireworks to sunset walks to Ema’s, here’s a look at New Year celebrations around the world.
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- Katlyn Bond, of Somers, N.Y., cheers in Times Square during a New Year’s Eve celebration, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015, in New York. Thousands braved the cold to watch the annual ball drop and ring in the new year. (John Minchillo/AP photo)
- Revelers are engulfed by confetti in Times Square just after midnight during New Year’s Eve festivities in New York, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015. (Craig Ruttle/AP photo)
- Fireworks erupt after midnight in Times Square during the New Year’s Eve celebration, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015, in New York. Thousands braved the cold to watch the annual ball drop and ring in the new year. (John Minchillo/AP photo)
- Bruce Li, left, and his girlfriend Phyllis Zhong, of Toronto, kiss just after midnight in New York’s Times Square. (Tina Fineberg/AP photo)
- Revelers enjoy confetti in Times Square after midnight during New Year’s Eve festivities in New York. (Craig Ruttle/AP photo)
- People cheer as the ball drops at midnight in Times Square on January 1, 2015 in New York City. An estimated one million people from around the world are expected to pack Times Square to ring in 2015. (Andrew Theodorakis/Getty Images)
- US singer Taylor Swift performs during New Years Eve celebrations at the Times Square in New York on December 2014. (Jewel Samad /Getty Images)
- Baltimore’s New Year’s Eve Spectacular welcomes the new year with music and a fireworks and light show display at midnight over the Inner Harbor. (Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun)
- Baltimore’s New Year’s Eve Spectacular welcomes the new year with music and a fireworks and light show display at midnight over the Inner Harbor. (Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun)
- Baltimore’s New Year’s Eve Spectacular welcomes the new year with music and a fireworks and light show display at midnight over the Inner Harbor. (Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun)
- Baltimore’s New Year’s Eve Spectacular welcomes the new year with music and a fireworks and light show display at midnight over the Inner Harbor. (Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun)
- Baltimore’s New Year’s Eve Spectacular welcomes the new year with music from Baltimore-based band Under The Covers performing at the amphitheater and a fireworks and light show display at midnight over the Inner Harbor. (Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun)
- Nathaniel Howard, 7, foreground, and brother Regrick, of Sumter, South Carolina, warm up their toy horns for the New Year celebration at the Inner Harbor. Baltimore’s New Year’s Eve Spectacular welcomes the new year with music and a fireworks and light show display at midnight over the Inner Harbor. (Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun)
- Revelers celebrate as fireworks explode during New Year’s festivities on Copacabana Beach on January 1, 2015 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Up to 2 million revelers were expected on Copacabana Beach to watch the annual New Year’s fireworks display which this year coincided with the start of the city’s 450th anniversary celebrations. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
- Hundreds of people gather to see the fireworks display and celebrate the New Year at Castle Square in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015. (Czarek Sokolowski/AP photo)
- A general view of atmosphere on the Champs-Elysees during the New Year’s Celebration on December 31, 2014 in Paris, France. (Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)
- A general view of the Arc de Triomphe during the New Year’s Celebration on the Champs-Elysees on December 31, 2014 in Paris, France. (Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)
- Several members of the Rodriguez Osorio family stand next to a slow roasted pig that is being cooked over a charcoal fire for the New Yearís Eve dinner, at sunset in Campo Florido, east of Havana, Cuba, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2014. The dish known as “Cerdo en Pua” or pig on a stick, is a New Yearís Eve tradition and delicacy that most Cuban families enjoy during the last night of the year. (Ramon Espinosa/AP photo)
- People watch fireworks exploding over Copacabana beach during New Year celebrations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015. (Felipe Dana/AP photo)
- People celebrate the New Year in Vilnius, on January 1, 2015. (Petras Malukas/Getty Images)
- An Indian woman applies coloured powder to a “rangolis”, a Hindu ritual design, in front of her home in Hyderabad on January 1, 2015. Rangolis are drawn in front of homes early in the morning with a beautiful motif to welcome relatives and friends to mark the New Year. (Noah Seelam/Getty Images)
- The band Magic! perform in Times Square during New Year’s Eve celebrations on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2014 in New York. (Charles Sykes/AP photo)
- The Copacabana fireworks are seen from the Chapéu Mangueira slum during New Year celebrations in Rio de Janeiro on January 1, 2015. (Tasso Marcelo/Getty Images)
- Confetti falls on revellers as they watch fireworks in the sky during New Year celebrations in Manila January 1, 2015. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco
- Revelers gather in Times Square as streets are closed in preparation for New Year’s Eve celebrations in New York December 31, 2014. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
- Light and laser illuminate the Lujiazui financial district of Pudong in Shanghai during a light show as part of a New Year countdown celebration on the Bund in Shanghai January 1, 2015. REUTERS/Aly Song
- Fireworks light up the sky from a floating installation of 25,000 wishing spheres lining the Marina Bay in the backdrop of the city’s financial district during the New Year’s Day countdown celebrations in Singapore January 1, 2015. People penned their New Year wishes on these spheres throughout December to be placed in the waters as part of the New Year Day celebrations, marking the city-state’s 50th year of independence. REUTERS/Edgar Su
- People release balloons during New Year celebrations in Tokyo January 1, 2015. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
- A woman lights a candle before a ceremony to celebrate the new year at Bongeun Buddhist temple in Seoul December 31, 2014. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
- A man (C) cheers during the New Year’s Eve countdown event in front of Beijing’s National Stadium, Known as the Bird’s Nest in Beijing on December 31,2014. Beijing is bidding to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, with a decision on the winning city to be made in July 2015. (Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty Images)
- People cheer to wish in the new year during a New Year’s Eve countdown event in front of Beijing’s National Stadium, Known as the Bird’s Nest in Beijing, on December 31,2014. Beijing is bidding to host the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, with a decision on the winning city to be made in July 2015. (Wang Zhao/AFP/Getty Images)
- People write “2015” with sparklers as they celebrate the New Year in the suburb of St. Petersburg late on December 31, 2014. New Year’s is the biggest holiday of the year in Russia, followed by Orthodox Christmas celebrated on January 7. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images)
- Revellers wait in Times Square on December 31, 2014 in New York City. An estimated one million people from around the world are expected to pack into Times Square to ring in 2015. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
- Pro-democracy protesters release over 100 yellow balloons to mark the new year outside a Hong Kong shopping mall on January 1, 2015. After Hong Kong authorities cleared major protest sites that occupied stretches of highways for more than two months, democracy campaigners have found different ways to make their voices heard, with large banners appearing on landmarks and smaller protest gatherings taking place. The yellow colour is a symbol of the city’s democracy movement. (Aaron Tam/AFP/Getty Images)
- People release sky lanterns to celebrate the New Year in Harbin, on January 1, 2015. Over one million visitors are expected to attend the spectacular Harbin Ice Festival, where buildings of ice are bathed in ethereal lights and international ice sculptors compete for honours. (Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images)
- Thousands line Victoria Harbour before the New Year fireworks in Hong Kong on December 31, 2014. Just like previous years, the city’s iconic skyline along Victoria Harbour will light up with an eight-minute pyrotechnic display, as tens of thousdands of partygoers will flock to the waterfront to celebrate. (Isaac Lawrence/AFP/Getty Images)
- This photo taken on December 30, 2014 shows guides in a Chinese park posing with balloons that read “Happy 2015”, to give out new year wishes to tourists at the park in Yangzhou, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province. (AFP/Getty Images)
- This photo taken on December 30, 2014 shows college students with paintings of sheep on their hands to welcome the new year, and to mark the coming “Year of the Sheep”, in Liaocheng, in eastern China’s Shandong province. The Year of the Sheep, according to the lunar new year calendar, will start on February 19, 2015. (AFP/Getty Images)
- This photo taken on December 30, 2014 shows a college student with paintings of a sheep on their hands to welcome the new year, and to mark the coming “Year of the Sheep”, in Liaocheng, in eastern China’s Shandong province. The Year of the Sheep, according to the lunar new year calendar, will start on February 19, 2015. (AFP/Getty Images)
- A sea lion paints a Chinese character for “sheep” in calligraphy as part of a New Year’s Day attraction at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo on December 31, 2014. The event, marking the forthcoming Chinese lunar calendar “Year of the Sheep”, is part of the aquarium’s New Year’s attractions until February 1. The actually 2015 lunar new year will begin on February 19. (Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images)
- A man in costume is seen before the 90th Sao Silvestre international 15 km race in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on 31 December 2014. Thirty thousand runners participated in the 15 km traditional New Year’s Eve event. (Miguel Shincariol/AFP/Getty Images)
- Singapore’s skyline gliters with lights as spheres in the waters of Marina Bay form the number ’50’ to mark Singapores 50th anniversary in 2015, ahead of the New Year’s countdown celebrations in Singapore on December 31, 2014. (Mohd Fyrol/AFP/Getty Images)
- A Pakistani vendor walks at Clifton beach during the last sunset of the year in Karachi on December 31, 2014. (Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images)
- Pakistanis tourists ride on a camel during the last sunset of the year at Clifton beach in Karachi on December 31, 2014. (Asif Hassan/AFP/Getty Images)
- A man carrying a puppet is seen before the 90th Sao Silvestre international 15 km race in Sao Paulo, Brazil on December 31, 2014. Thirty thousand runners participated in the 15 km traditional New Year’s Eve event. (Miguel Shincariol/AFP/Getty Images)
- Firework display from the top of the Sky Tower to welcome the New Year on January 1, 2015 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Dave Rowland/Getty Images)
- A man dressed as Father Frost, the equivalent of Santa Claus, and children as snowmen take part in a New Year’s parade in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek on December 31, 2014. New Year, which was the biggest informal holiday of the year in the former Soviet Union, is also very popular in the predominantly Muslim Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan. (Vyacheslav Oseledko/AFP/Getty Images)
- Firework display from the top of the Sky Tower to welcome the New Year on January 1, 2015 in Auckland, New Zealand. (Photo by Dave Rowland/Getty Images)
- People gather at the Sydney Opera House to welcome in the new year on New Year’s Eve on Sydney Harbour on December 31, 2014 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
- Fireworks light up the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the annual fireworks display to usher in the new year, early January 1, 2015. More than 10,000 aerial fireworks, 25,000 shooting comets and 100,000 pyrotechnic effects were used during the annual Sydney Harbour New Year’s Eve show, with an estimated 1.6 million people watching from along the harbour foreshore, local media reported. REUTERS/Jason Reed
- A Shinto priest looks behind a cover during ceremonies bidding farewell to 2014, ahead of New Year’s Day, at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo December 31, 2014. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
- Shinto priests wear asagutsu wooden shoes as they arrive for a ritual during ceremonies bidding farewell to 2014, ahead of New Year’s Day, at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo December 31, 2014. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
- School teachers arrange flower petals in a formation during their New Year’s Day celebrations at a school in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad December 31, 2014. REUTERS/Amit Dave
- School students dressed in Santa Claus costumes pose during their New Year’s Day celebrations at a school in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad December 31, 2014. REUTERS/Amit Dave
- Fireworks light up the Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge during an early light show before the midnight New Year fireworks, December 31, 2014. More than 10,000 aerial fireworks, 25,000 shooting comets and 100,000 pyrotechnic effects are expected to be used during the annual Sydney Harbour New Year’s Eve show, with an estimated 1.6 million people watching from along the harbour foreshore, local media reported. REUTERS/Jason Reed
- Students form “2015” standing on snow to welcome the upcoming New Year at Shenyang Agriculture University in Shenyang, Liaoning province, December 31, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer
- Thousands gather in a field near Sydney’s Central Business District early December 31, 2014 as they wait for a harbourside vantage point to open to the public for New Year’s Eve fireworks December 31, 2014. REUTERS/Jason Reed
- Students with dragon dance props form “2015” to welcome the upcoming New Year at an art school in Hefei, Anhui province, December 31, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer
- A woman wears a head band displaying 2015 as she waits for the annual New Year fireworks display on Sydney Harbour December 31, 2014. More than 10,000 aerial fireworks, 25,000 shooting comets and 100,000 pyrotechnic effects will be used during this year’s Sydney Harbour New Year’s Eve show, with an estimated 1.2 million people watching from along the harbour foreshore, local media reported. REUTERS/David Gray
- Police watch as people enter the harbour foreshore area in the city for the annual New Year fireworks display on Sydney Harbour December 31, 2014. More than 10,000 aerial fireworks, 25,000 shooting comets and 100,000 pyrotechnic effects will be used during this year’s Sydney Harbour New Year’s Eve show, with an estimated 1.2 million people watching from along the harbour forehore local media reported. REUTERS/David Gray
- A floating installation of 25,000 wishing spheres line Marina Bay as the city’s financial district is seen in the background, ahead of the New Year’s Day countdown celebrations, in Singapore December 31, 2014. Throughout December, people penned their New Year’s wishes on the spheres to be placed in the waters as part of the coming New Year Day celebrations, marking the year of the city-state’s 50th year of independence. REUTERS/Edgar Su
- People pray during ceremonies bidding farewell to 2014, ahead of New Year’s Day, at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo December 31, 2014. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
- A woman uses an umbrella to protect herself from rain during New Year celebrations at the Brandenburger Tor gate in Berlin December 31, 2014. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
- Crowds watch and take photographs as fireworks light up the Sydney Harbour Bridge during the annual fireworks display January 1, 2015. More than 10,000 aerial fireworks, 25,000 shooting comets and 100,000 pyrotechnic effects were used during the annual Sydney Harbour New Year’s Eve show, with an estimated 1.2 million people watching from along the harbour foreshore, local media reported. REUTERS/David Gray
- A man hangs an “Ema”, a wooden plaque with people’s wishes or prayers, on a hook during ceremonies bidding farewell to 2014, ahead of New Year’s Day, at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo December 31, 2014. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
- In this handout photo provided by Disney Parks, actor and comedian Tim Allen, the voice of Buzz Lightyear in the Disney-Pixar “Toy Story” series of animated films, poses with Buzz Lightyear December 31, 2014 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme park in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Allen, who also starred on the hit TV series “Home Improvement” and in live-action motion pictures like “The Santa Clause,” is visiting the Walt Disney World Resort to ring in the new year. (Photo by Matt Stroshane/Disney Parks via Getty Images)