Hello, 2019: Revelry, reflection mark transition to new year
Fireworks, concerts, spiritual services and political addresses abounded to mark the transition to 2019 as revelers around the globe bid farewell Monday to a year filled with challenges to many of the world’s most basic institutions, including political, trade and religious ones.
A look at how the world is ushering in 2019:
Vatican City
Pope Francis has rounded out the most problematic year of his papacy by presiding over a vespers service and praying before the Vatican’s giant sand sculpture Nativity scene.
During his homily Monday, Francis lamented how many people spent 2018 living on the edge of dignity, homeless or forced into modern forms of slavery. Francis noted that Rome alone counts some 10,000 homeless and said: “During the winter their situation is particularly hard.”
Accompanied by his chief alms-giver, Francis then walked out into St. Peter’s Square, where he greeted pilgrims and prayed before the Nativity scene, carved out of 720 tons of packed sand.
On Tuesday, Francis will celebrate Mass to mark the start of a new year and officially leave behind 2018, which saw a new eruption of the clergy sex abuse scandal.
Philippines
Dozens of people have been injured ahead of New Year’s Eve, when many across the Philippines set off powerful firecrackers in one of Asia’s most violent celebrations despite a government scare campaign and threats of arrests.
The Department of Health said it has recorded more than 50 firecracker injuries in the past 10 days. That is expected to increase as Filipinos usher in 2019.
Officials have urged centralized fireworks displays to discourage wild and sometimes fatal merrymaking.
The notorious tradition, worsened by celebratory gunfire, stems from a Chinese-influenced belief that noise drives away evil and misfortune.
Earlier Monday, suspected Muslim militants remotely detonated a bomb near the entrance of a mall in Cotabato as people did last-minute shopping ahead of celebrations. Officials said at least two people were killed and nearly 30 wounded.
London
Britons will usher in the new year with the familiar chimes of Big Ben, even though the world famous clock has been disconnected for more than a year because of a conservation project.
Parliament announced last week that the clocks’ massive bell would be sounded to mark the new year with the help of a specially built electric mechanism to power the clock’s hammer, which weighs about 440 pounds. The clock mechanism, which has kept time since 1859, has been dismantled as part of the renovation work.
New Year’s Eve without Big Ben would be positively un-British. The comforting chimes are used by TV and radio stations throughout Britain to herald the moment of transition from the old to the new year.
The focal point of London’s usually rowdy celebrations will be a fireworks display on the Victoria Embankment at the side of the River Thames. Vast crowds are expected, and police are warning people without a ticket for the sold out event to make other celebration plans.
New York
Snoop Dogg, Sting and Christina Aguilera were set to welcome 2019 in a packed Times Square along with revelers from around the world who come to see the traditional crystal ball drop.
Spectators began assembling early in the afternoon for the madefor-TV extravaganza.
The celebration will take place under tight security, with partygoers checked for weapons and then herded into pens, ringed by metal barricades, where they wait for the stroke of midnight.
Monday night’s temperatures were mild — the weather last year was barely in the teens — but likely rain. Umbrellas are banned for security reasons.