En, neuf, ocho, sieben, sze, cinque, vier, tatu, two, Happy New Year. As the start of a new decade slides across the globe, by now half of the world has started 2011 with lots of celebration, fireworks, music, and resolutions.
People in Western Europe and Western Africa were the last to join in. They wished each other Happy New Year, Bonne Annee, Gelukkig Nieuwjaar, and Prosit Neujahr while toasting to a good start for 2011.
All have their own little habits. In Spain, people need to eat twelve grapes at the stroke of midnight. The tradition is that doing so brings you good luck and makes your wishes come true in the coming year. Pau Gasol, a basketball player who is a native of Barcelona, wrote on the Lakers blog that he hopes to join in this tradition and wash them down with champagne.
Tokyo has one of the greatest numbers of countdown parties, with huge fireworks. People at that moment leave everything behind them and start over. The Japanese custom before New Year’s Eve is to deeply clean the house in order to be sure to leave everything from the past year in the past and start the New Year totally clean.
In the Netherlands, a lot of little groups light fireworks on the streets and party until they wash away the past with a New Year’s dive the next morning.
People in Western Europe and Western Africa were the last to join in. They wished each other Happy New Year, Bonne Annee, Gelukkig Nieuwjaar, and Prosit Neujahr while toasting to a good start for 2011.
All have their own little habits. In Spain, people need to eat twelve grapes at the stroke of midnight. The tradition is that doing so brings you good luck and makes your wishes come true in the coming year. Pau Gasol, a basketball player who is a native of Barcelona, wrote on the Lakers blog that he hopes to join in this tradition and wash them down with champagne.
Tokyo has one of the greatest numbers of countdown parties, with huge fireworks. People at that moment leave everything behind them and start over. The Japanese custom before New Year’s Eve is to deeply clean the house in order to be sure to leave everything from the past year in the past and start the New Year totally clean.
In the Netherlands, a lot of little groups light fireworks on the streets and party until they wash away the past with a New Year’s dive the next morning.
Many New Year’s resolutions may have been made and, in some countries, they may have already been broken. The Fiji islands, New Zealand, and Australia are already waking up. Some people there may have hangovers from “yesterday’s” celebration.
In Australia, 1.5 million people gathered in Sydney to watch spectacular fireworks blasting from the Harbour Bridge. It was a hot celebration as the temperature reached 104 degrees.
The world’s highest fireworks could have been seen in Dubai. The more than 2,400 foot high Burj Khalifa gave a spectacular show of “four minutes that were just frozen in time, four minutes of sheer spectacle,” according to the Khaleej Times. A laser show as prelude and a gigantic water fountain made a spectacle for thousands.
In India’s New Delhi, a cold wind did not prevent many young people from putting on their finest clothes and finding clubs to celebrate. “I know it’s a chilling night, but the New Year’s Eve is worth dressing for. We are heading for Amnesia DJ night at Gurgaon with our friends,” student Shiraly Chaturvedi told the Tribune Online.
An eruption of fireworks over the Kremlin in Moscow accompanied the parties people held. About 120 people, who spent New Year’s Eve protesting in opposition rallies, started 2011 by being arrested, according to AFP in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Mild weather drew 250,000 people to London Eye where they witnessed an eight-minute display of fireworks. For the first time, songs by British artists gave the display a musical soundtrack.
In Australia, 1.5 million people gathered in Sydney to watch spectacular fireworks blasting from the Harbour Bridge. It was a hot celebration as the temperature reached 104 degrees.
The world’s highest fireworks could have been seen in Dubai. The more than 2,400 foot high Burj Khalifa gave a spectacular show of “four minutes that were just frozen in time, four minutes of sheer spectacle,” according to the Khaleej Times. A laser show as prelude and a gigantic water fountain made a spectacle for thousands.
In India’s New Delhi, a cold wind did not prevent many young people from putting on their finest clothes and finding clubs to celebrate. “I know it’s a chilling night, but the New Year’s Eve is worth dressing for. We are heading for Amnesia DJ night at Gurgaon with our friends,” student Shiraly Chaturvedi told the Tribune Online.
An eruption of fireworks over the Kremlin in Moscow accompanied the parties people held. About 120 people, who spent New Year’s Eve protesting in opposition rallies, started 2011 by being arrested, according to AFP in Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Mild weather drew 250,000 people to London Eye where they witnessed an eight-minute display of fireworks. For the first time, songs by British artists gave the display a musical soundtrack.
Although crowds were larger than last year, only a handful of minor offenses were reported.
French citizens call this night la Saint-Sylvestre. They celebrate it with dishes like pancakes and foie gras [part of a four-course meal called le Réveillon de Saint-Sylvestre], accompanied with champagne, which are believed to bring prosperity. A feared tradition was the burning of vehicles. Aiming to prevent this destructive custom, Radio France Internationale reported that France deployed 53,800 policemen.
Like France, Germany also celebrated St. Sylvester, remembering the Fourth century Pope Sylvester I. The most famous German fireworks gathering takes place at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Around a million people spend the day in freezing cold, in its vicinity.
In South Africa, people were asked not to set off fireworks. “Fireworks sound like firearms, so you may never know if it is a firearm,” Eastern Cape police spokeswoman Colonel Nondumiso Jafta said in the Sunday Times. People were also asked not to drink in public. A lovely alternative to fireworks was 4,000 paper lanterns on a bamboo frame in Plettenberg Bay, rising 900 feet.
The second half of the world is awaiting this wonderful once year moment, while others have already gone to sleep.
French citizens call this night la Saint-Sylvestre. They celebrate it with dishes like pancakes and foie gras [part of a four-course meal called le Réveillon de Saint-Sylvestre], accompanied with champagne, which are believed to bring prosperity. A feared tradition was the burning of vehicles. Aiming to prevent this destructive custom, Radio France Internationale reported that France deployed 53,800 policemen.
Like France, Germany also celebrated St. Sylvester, remembering the Fourth century Pope Sylvester I. The most famous German fireworks gathering takes place at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin. Around a million people spend the day in freezing cold, in its vicinity.
In South Africa, people were asked not to set off fireworks. “Fireworks sound like firearms, so you may never know if it is a firearm,” Eastern Cape police spokeswoman Colonel Nondumiso Jafta said in the Sunday Times. People were also asked not to drink in public. A lovely alternative to fireworks was 4,000 paper lanterns on a bamboo frame in Plettenberg Bay, rising 900 feet.
The second half of the world is awaiting this wonderful once year moment, while others have already gone to sleep.
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