Revellers engulfed by confetti in Times Square just after midnight during New Year’s Eve festivities in New York (Borough of Manhattan. New York County) NY USA.
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Revellers play in spent confetti along a street after midnight in Times Square in New York.
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People gather on the Champs Élysées in Paris (Département de Paris. Région Île-de-France) FRANCE before celebrating the New Year.
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In wishing their relatives and friends a good year and good health, the French say, “Bonne année et bonne santé”.
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An old-fashioned Chinese junk sails in Victoria Harbour before the New Year fireworks in Hong Kong PRC on 31 December 2014.
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People gather to celebrate the New Year at the Imjingak Pavilion near the border village of Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War, in Paju (Gyeonggi Province), north of Seoul (Special City of Seoul) ROK.
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On New Year’s Day in Korea, believers try to recall their past lives and go to temples to pray for happiness. They also light candles which symbolise enlightened souls.
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The Japanese pay special attention to New Year food traditions. They prepare dishes of seaweed, sweet potato, soybeans, and fish cakes. Another cherished custom is giving money to children in special envelopes, known as otoshidama.
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Men ride on a portable Shinto shrine (mikoshi) as local people carry it into the sea during a festival to wish for calm waters in the ocean and good fortune in the New Year in Oiso (Naka District. Kanagawa Prefecture. Greater Tokyo Area. Kantō Region) JAPAN, west of Tokyo proper.
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Icelanders celebrate the holiday with their families and set off fireworks at midnight, ushering in the New Year. Musical shows, bonfires, and feasting are also very popular.
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Skating rink on Palace Square, St Petersburg (Federal City of St Petersburg. Northwestern Federal District) RF.
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The main character of Russian New Year is Ded Moroz (Grandpa Frost), a wizard who brings presents to children.
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Brazil celebrates New Year with parties and music festivals on the famous Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro (Rio de Janeiro State. Southeast Region); oceans of people dressed in flashy and colourful clothes flood city streets.
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Brazilian fishermen try to entice the Mother of Waters by going out in their boats with gifts of rice, flowers and even jewellery… which they throw into the sea.
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Italians observe an interesting food custom on New Year. When midnight comes, they eat lentil stew, one spoonful for each stroke of the bell. They believe that brings good fortune.
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Scarcely has New Year arrived, than the English rush to open their back doors to see the old year off. Next, they ask the first dark-haired man they encounter to come in through the front door. Guests should bring salt, coal, and bread, symbolising having enough food, money, and warmth for the next year.
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New Year Celebrations have just taken place all over the globe, engulfing the seven billion people of our planet in a spirit of joy and pleasure, granting them hope for a better year ahead, and leaving behind bad memories and misfortune from the last one. Let’s cast a glance on New Year celebrations from the sun-kissed beaches of Brazil to the shining skies of Iceland. “May your days be as glittery as diamond, may your friends be as good as gold, may your heart stay as green as emerald, and may your soul remain as pure as pearl”. The French celebrate the New Year with a traditional feast that includes crepes, foie gras, and, of course, champagne. When the clock strikes midnight, the French exchange kisses. New Year is clearly the most adored festival of the Chinese calendar, with Hong Kong residents heading to temples to pray for good fortune, followed by pyrotechnic shows and mythological spectacles which light up the city. Koreans celebrate the New Year twice… on 1 January, like the rest of the world, and on the first day of the Korean lunar calendar. In both cases, it’s a major traditional family holiday when Koreans visit their parents and remember their ancestors. In Russia, New Year is the happiest and most cherished family holiday. Ice skating is one of the main activities during the winter holidays.
1 January 2015
Sputnik International
Voices from Russia 
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