PEOPLE AND PLACES: New Year's Celebrations Around the World

New Year's Celebrations Around the World

At the stroke of midnight rolled across the world's time zones, people gathered in private and took to the streets to celebrate the arrival of the New Year, 2013. Fireworks erupted from Sydney to Moscow, and revelers gathered in London, Dakar, New York, Las Vegas, and thousands of other places, raising a glass, keeping warm, making resolutions, and wishing each other a "Happy New Year!"

A reveler writes the number 2013 with sparklers ahead of New Year's Day in a forest outside Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, on a day with a temperature of about -25 degrees Celsius (-13 F), on December 31, 2012. (Reuters/Ilya Naymushin)

Fireworks explode behind the Opera House during the New Year celebrations in Sydney, Australia, on January 1, 2013.(AP Photo/Rob Griffith) #

A couple with champagne glasses stand on a hotel balcony as fireworks explode over Edinburgh Castle during the Hogmanay (New Year) street party celebrations in Edinburgh, Scotland, on January 1, 2013. (Reuters/David Moir) #

Fireworks explode over the temple of the Parthenon during New Year celebrations in Athens, Greece, on January 1, 2013.(Reuters/Yorgos Karahalis) #

People take part in New Year celebrations near the Arc de Triomphe on the Champs Elysees Avenue in Paris, France, on January 1, 2013.(Reuters/Benoit Tessier) #

A reveler walks on a frozen lake between spotlights during a count-down event for the new year at the Summer Palace in Beijing, China, on December 31, 2012. (Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images) #

A light show illuminates the Summer Palace during the New Year celebration in Beijing, China, on December 31, 2012.(Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images) #

Fireworks explode in the sky over St. Basil Cathedral as Russians celebrate New Year on Red Square in Moscow, Russia, on January 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev) #

Myanmar punks dance as they hold their home made New Year celebration, on December 31, 2012, in Yangon, Myanmar.(AP Photo/Khin Maung Win) #

People release balloons as the Tokyo Tower is illuminated to celebrate the New Year at a countdown event in Tokyo, Japan, on January 1, 2013. (Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon) #

Maurizio Palmulli of Italy dives into the Tiber River from the Cavour bridge, as part of traditional New Year celebration on January 1, 2013. Four men dived the muddy waters of the Tiber from the Cavour bridge, continuing an annual tradition which dates back to 1946.(Reuters/Tony Gentile) #

Fireworks light up the sky along Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on January 1, 2013, during celebrations by over three million people attending New Year's Eve festivities. (Ari Versiani/AFP/Getty Images) #

People watch fireworks exploding over Copacabana beach during New Year celebrations at the Pavao Pavaozinho slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) #

Young residents watch fireworks exploding over Copacabana beach during new year celebration at the Pavao Pavaozinho slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on January 1, 2013. With a clear viewing of Rio's firework celebration that bring in the new year, Brazilian Azelina dos Santos charges as much as $500 for a spot on her shanty town rooftop, where there is room for 60 guests; 30 locals and 30 out-of-towners. She says she mixes up the numbers to encourage integration. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) #

People run to take a bath in the North Sea during the Nieuwjaarsduik (New Year's dive) on New Year's Day in Scheveningen, Netherlands, on January 1, 2013. (Robin Utrecht/AFP/Getty Images) #

Gary Marion, portraying female impersonator Sushi, hangs in an oversized replica of a women's red high heel over Duval Street at the Bourbon Street Pub Complex in Key West, Florida, on December 31, 2012. The Red Shoe Drop has become a Key West tradition and is one of five Florida Keys warm-weather takes on New York City's Times Square ball drop marking the beginning of the New Year.(Reuters/Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau) #

Fireworks explode at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center over Victoria Harbour to celebrate the New Year, on January 1, 2013(AP Photo/Kin Cheung) #

People toast with a bottle of Champagne as they celebrate the New Year on the Trocadero square beside the Eiffel Tower in Paris, early on January 1, 2013. (Fred Dufour/AFP/Getty Images) #

Fireworks light the sky in Dakar, Senegal, during the New Year celebrations, on January 1, 2013.(Mamadou Toure Behan/AFP/Getty Images) #

Hundreds of holiday makers at the Jomo Kenyatta Public beach Mombasa, Kenya, on the first day of the year as they ushered in the new year on January 1, 2013. Most of the beaches were in full capacity as the holiday makers spend most of the afternoon session at the beaches either relaxing, swimming or enjoying boat excursions to the deep sea. (AP Photo) #

Fireworks explode over Elizabeth Tower housing the Big Ben clock to celebrate the New Year in London, on January 1, 2013.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) #

Fireworks light up the London Eye during the New Year celebrations in central London just after midnight on January 1, 2013.(Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images) #

Empty champagne bottles and glasses are pictured during a New Year's Eve celebrations in Vienna, Austria, on December 31, 2012.(Reuters/Lisi Niesner) #

Visitors take pictures and videos during a light show as part of a New Year countdown celebration at the financial square on the Bund in Shanghai, on December 31, 2012. (Reuters/Stringer) #

A man watches as fireworks explode over the coast of Vina del Mar, Chile, as part of the New Year celebrations, on January 1, 2013.(Reuters/Marcos Brindicci) #

Girls holding saltire flags join around a thousand New Year swimmers, many in costume, who braved freezing conditions in the River Forth in front of the Forth Rail Bridge during the annual Loony Dook Swim in South Queensferry, Scotland, on January 1, 2013. Thousands of people gathered last night to see in the New Year at Hogmanay celebrations in towns and cities across Scotland..(Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) #

Fireworks explode from Taiwan's tallest skyscraper, the Taipei 101 during New Year celebrations in Taipei, on January 1, 2013.(Reuters/Pichi Chuang) #

Fireworks light up the sky above Funchal Bay, Madeira Island, Portugal, to celebrate the arrival of the New Year, on January 1, 2013.(Gregorio Cunha/AFP/Getty Images) #

A reveler stands in Time Square before celebrating the New Year in New York City, on December 31, 2012. (Reuters/Joshua Lott) #

Revelers celebrate the New Year in New York City, on January 1, 2013. (Reuters/Gary He) #

People celebrate as the stroke of midnight rings in the new year in Times Square on January 1, 2013 in New York City. Approximately one million people rang in the new year in Times Square. (Monika Graff/Getty Images) #

Fireworks burst over the Las Vegas Strip at midnight on New Year's Eve, as seen from the South Point Hotel Casino, on January 1, 2013.(AP Photo/Las Vegas News Bureau, Brian Jones) #

A Chinese woman holds incense while offering prayers on the first day of the New Year at the Yonghegong Lama Temple in Beijing , China, on January 1, 2013. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)