World greets 2018 with fireworks, traditions
Many pray for peace, others ward off evil with noisy celebrations
People around the world welcomed 2018 with traditional fireworks displays, partying and an array of local traditions.
One of the first countries to welcome the new year was Australia, where fireworks exploded over the iconic Sydney Opera House as people watched from boats in the harbor.
Hundreds of couples took part in a mass wedding ceremony in Jakarta, Indonesia, one designed to help the poor who were unable to afford a proper wedding.
Buddhists lit candles during celebrations at Jogyesa temple in Seoul, South Korea.
Pope Francis presided at a prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica, a traditional occasion to say thanks in each year’s last hours.
In keeping with past New Year’s Day practices, the pope will celebrate Mass today, dedicated to the theme of world peace.
Some 100 people gathered outside the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, to remember victims of a New Year’s mass shooting a year ago. The group, holding carnations, observed a moment of silence for 39 people killed in the attack.
A major windstorm caused problems in Scotland, but Edinburgh’s famed Hogmany New Year’s Eve celebration was unaffected.
Storm Dylan battered parts of Scotland with gusts of up to 80 miles per hour, with forecasters saying injuries were possible because of flying debris.
As the new year made its way through Russia’s 11 time zones, President Vladimir Putin called on people to be considerate and conciliatory with one another.
Germans celebrated under tight security from police mindful of widespread sexual abuse of women in Cologne two years ago and last year, when a Tunisian asylum seeker drove a stolen truck into a Christmas market in Berlin, killing 12 people.
Many Japanese celebrated the arrival of the Year of the Dog in the traditional way of praying for peace and good fortune at neighborhood Shinto shrines, and eating New Year’s food such as noodles, shrimp and sweet black beans.
Barbecued beef and octopus dumpling stalls were out at Tokyo’s Zojoji Temple, where people take turns striking the giant bell 108 times at midnight, an annual practice repeated at other Buddhist temples throughout Japan.
Hours before midnight in the Philippines, authorities had already reported that scores of people had been injured by celebratory firecrackers, part of what are some of the most raucous New Year’s celebrations in Asia.
Many Filipinos, largely influenced by Chinese tradition, believe that noisy New Year’s celebrations drive away evil and misfortune. But they have carried that superstition to extremes, exploding dangerously large firecrackers and firing guns to welcome the new year despite threats of arrest.
A woman in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, threw flowers into the water to ask Yemanja, goddess of the sea, for good luck in the new year.
Romanians meditated and prayed at Orthodox churches and monasteries. In rural eastern Romania, villagers danced traditional pantomime-like jigs to welcome the new year, wrapping themselves in bear furs or dressing as horses.