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In Pictures: New Year 2025 celebrations from around the world
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1 hour ago

The world has been saying goodbye to 2024 and welcoming 2025. Here's how people in different countries celebrated the new year.

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As the clock struck midnight in New Zealand, Auckland welcomed the arrival of 2025 with its traditional fireworks display at the iconic Sky Tower.

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Image source,SONNY TUMBELAKA/AFP
Dancers performed the dance of releasing the sun 2024, welcoming the sun 2025, a New Year's Eve celebration in Bali, Indonesia

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Image source,Bianca De Marchi/AAP Image via REUTERS
A "family fireworks" display lit up the Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge, three hours before midnight.

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Image source,Bianca De Marchi/AAP Image via REUTERS
Revellers set up camp by the water, at Mrs. Macquarie's Point, to ensure a good view of the main display.

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Image source,SAEED KHAN/AFP
Image caption,
The patient crowd was rewarded as huge display lit up the midnight sky over the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

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Image caption,
Chinese President Xi Jinping delivered a speech ahead of the celebrations in Beijing.

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Fireworks lit up the sky over the Songhua River during a firework show to welcome 2025 in Jilin City, China.

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A Thai Buddhist devotee offered prayers to a Buddha statue during a merit-making ceremony to mark the New Year at the City Pillar Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand.

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The Buddhist practice is believed to bring good fortune, spiritual benefits, and blessings for the year ahead.

Happy New Year to everyone
And goodbye to the year begone
Thank God for all He's done
For the rain, the wind and the Sun
For even if the economy has been torn,
We still name our blessings one by one.

Be grateful for the passing year no matter what,
And resolve to make the coming year fruitful a lot
Only you can decide for yourself, others cannot,
Know how to achieve a great year with all you've got.

If you want to write a customized rhyme for a loved one
Get across to me and have a beautiful one done
Happy 2025 to you, your family born and unborn.

Mjshexy:
Happy new year

EmperorCaesar:
Are you an Aussie or are you based in New Zealand?





As for the topic, how is this January 1 different from Dec 31.


If this wasnt a leap year, today would have been Jan 1 already and not even the day knows the difference

All the same, It feels nice to see more days

In pictures: Stunning firework displays as New Year’s Eve celebrations kick off around the world
New Year’s Eve celebrations have begun in New Zealand and will end in the Baker and Howland Islands

Alex Croft
Tuesday 31 December 2024 20:16 GMT

Sydney's spectacular New Year's Eve fireworks show rings in 2025
New Zealand

The year is drawing to a close around the world, and pictures of wild celebrations are emerging as populations say goodbye to 2024.

The past year has seen the global population hit around 8.2 billion, an Olympic Games in Paris watched by 5 billion people, and the continuation of wars in Europe and the Middle East.

It has also seen billions of people take to the polls in elections across 73 countries, from Madagascar to India, the United Kingdom to the United States.

But tonight is a night of celebration for many as bottles are popped open to see the start of the millennium’s 26th year.

And with it comes the chance - or the pressure - to finally get started with those long-delayed resolutions.

Here are all the pictures from New Year’s Eve celebrations from around the globe as they come in.

New Zealand
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Auckland, on New Zealand’s north island, welcomes in 2025 with a fireworks display at Sky Tower (1News)

Australia
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There had been fears the Sydney fireworks would be cancelled due to train strikes (AFP/Getty)
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Fireworks light up the midnight sky over Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House (AFP/Getty)
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Revellers turned out in large numbers to witness Melbourne’s New Year celebrations (Getty)

Japan
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A projection was displayed on the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building as Japan welcomed in 2025 (Reuters)
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People in Japan react joyfully following the countdown to the end of 2024 (Reuters)

South Korea
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A light display in Seoul welcomes in 2025, after a difficult end to the year in South Korea (AP)

Taiwan
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Fireworks light up the Taiwan skyline (Getty)

Philippines
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Fireworks explode over the Rockwell Center in Manila (Getty)
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A reveller celebrates the New Year with firecrackers in Mandaluyong City (Reuters)

China
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Fireworks light up the midnight sky over Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong (AFP/Getty)
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People release balloons into the air to celebrate the New Year in Wuhan (Getty)

Malayasia
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Fireworks go off over the Petronas Twin Tower during celebrations in Kuala Lumpur (AFP/Getty)

Thailand
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The Bangkok skyline disappears behind firework blasts (Reuters)

Indonesia
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People gathered for festivities outside the Bundaran Hotel in Jakarta (EPA)

Vietnam
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Fireworks illuminate the sky over Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi (EPA)

Sri Lanka
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Fireworks burst over Colombo’s port (AFP/Getty)

India
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Revellers welcome the New year in Mumbai (Reuters)
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A crowd lines the street in Bangalore as the city enters 2025 (EPA)

Pakistan
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Fireworks welcome the New Year in Karachi (AFP/Getty)

Source

Kiribati, New Zealand become first countries to enter New Year 2025

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The small Pacific island nation of Kiribati has once again taken center stage as the first country to usher in the New Year.

Kiritimati Island, also known as Christmas Island, celebrated the arrival of January 1, 2025, with jubilant festivities as the clock struck midnight earlier today.

Located in the central Pacific Ocean, Kiritimati operates 14 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and 8.5 hours ahead of India.

This significant moment marks the start of global New Year’s celebrations, with Kiribati leading the world into 2025.

The island’s residents welcomed the fresh dawn with lively fireworks displays, upbeat music, and communal gatherings that filled the air with joy and anticipation.

Meanwhile, New Zealand also joined in as one of the first major nations to ring in the New Year.

At 11:00 GMT, cities like Auckland and Wellington lit up the night sky with spectacular fireworks displays.

Auckland’s iconic Sky Tower became the focal point of the celebrations, dazzling onlookers as it erupted in a blaze of colorful pyrotechnics.

The festivities in New Zealand unfolded 13 hours before London’s Big Ben would toll to announce 2025 and 18 hours ahead of New York’s iconic Times Square ball drop.

Across New Zealand, crowds gathered to marvel at the displays, share champagne toasts, and revel in the celebratory atmosphere.

Source