+++ New Year’s 2019 around the world
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03:00 The New Year has arrived in Brazil! Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia and Sao Paolo all welcomed 2019. Brazil’s southeastern coast is the first place in the Americas to celebrate the New Year. A fireworks show will illuminate Rio’s iconic Copacabana beach and some two million people are expected to gather there for the big celebration.
02:30 Many world leaders, including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Russian President Vladimir Putin, have given their takes on the previous year and their expectations for the coming one:
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World leaders welcome 2019
Merkel: ‘We must fight for our convictions’
German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Germans that global cooperation will be essential to tackle challenges such as climate change, immigration and the fight against terrorism in 2019. “For our own interests, we want to solve all these questions, and we can do that best when we also take into consideration the interests of others,” Merkel said.
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World leaders welcome 2019
Macron seeks unity
French president Emmanuelle Macron was upbeat and resolute in his end of year address. “I believe in us,” he said. Macron addressed the discontent expressed in the recent yellow vest protests, but encouraged the French to remember the country’s prosperity. “Let’s stop running ourselves down and making believe that France is a country where solidarity doesn’t exist,” Macron said.
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World leaders welcome 2019
May looks ahead to Brexit
UK Prime Minister Theresa May’s New Year’s speech highlighted Britain’s upcoming exit from the European Union. She urged British lawmakers to approve her Brexit plan so that “Britain can turn a corner.” May urged citizens on both sides of the Brexit debate to put their differences aside and unite going forward. “Together I believe we can start a new chapter with optimism and hope,” she said.
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World leaders welcome 2019
Putin asks Russians to work together
Russia celebrated the arrival of 2019 across 11 time zones and at each one President Vladimir Putin’s New Year’s address was broadcast. Putin urged citizens to work together. “We can achieve positive results only through our own efforts and well-coordinated team work,” he said. Putin stressed that improving quality of life in Russia will remain a top priority in 2019.
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World leaders welcome 2019
Xi Jingping praises China’s achievements
Though New Year’s Eve is not widely celebrated in mainland China — the country observes the lunar New Year in February — President Xi Jingping still marked the occasion by addressing the nation. He outlined what China had accomplished in 2018. “We have put forward China’s proposals and sent out China’s voice,” Xi said of the many multinational meetings that China hosted this past year.
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World leaders welcome 2019
Donald Trump ends 2018 on Twitter
US President Donald Trump marked the end of 2018 at the White House, where he addressed multiple subjects on Twitter. He celebrated his decision to withdraw troops from Syria and defended his planned border wall that led to a government shutdown a week before the New Year. In a short clip, Trump wished Americans a “really, really, Happy New Year” and said 2019 would be a “great year.”
00:00 London, Edinburgh and Lisbon have joined the rest of Europe into the New Year! London Mayor Sadiq Khan dedicated the city’s impressive display to its EU residents. “By paying tribute to our close relationship with Europe as we welcome in the New Year tonight, we will once again show the world that London will always be open,” he said.
23:00 Your DW team in Germany is now celebrating too! Berlin, Paris, Vienna, Madrid, Rome and dozens of other European capitals have officially entered 2019. Although local traditions differ across the continent, Europeans usually celebrate with kisses, clinking wine glasses, and extremely loud firecrackers. The last part is especially true in Germany, where people are only allowed to buy firecrackers for the last three days of the year.
Hundreds of thousands of people celebrated the New Year near Berlin’s Brandenburger Tor
22:00 And it is New Year is South Africa! If you happen to read this from Johannesburg, be wary of the festivities in the suburb of Hillbrow, where residents traditionally chuck unwanted furniture out of the window.
21:00 The easternmost parts of Russia entered the New Year nine hours ago, but Moscow is only welcoming it now. Still, for some Russians, it is not really New Year until the president addresses the nation from outside the Kremlin. In the speech broadcast just before midnight, Vladimir Putin urged his compatriots to show unity and “generosity of the soul,” saying that this generosity is “required both during holidays and workdays, when we support those who need help, who are lonely or sick.”
As per tradition, Russian state television broadcasts 12 chimes of the Kremlin clock as Moscow welcomes in the New Year. This is traditionally followed by the national anthem.
20:00 The United Arab Emirates are entering 2019: Residents and visitors in Dubai have seen a laser, lights, and fireworks spectacle launched from the world’s tallest skyscraper, Burj Khalifa. Officials have said some two million people were expected to descend on the city center for the show, according to the local daily The National.
18:30 The New Year has now arrived in India. Although Hindu worshipers have their own calendar, where the year begins on a different date every year, the arrival of 1 January is also a major event. Indians usually sing, dance and attend parties for the New Year celebration, similar to the people in other parts of the globe.
17:47 Paris is gearing up for the gigantic New Year’s Party at Champs-Elysees where hundreds of thousands of people are expected to appear. The celebration will be guarded by 12,000 police officers, who will be searching bags and confiscating alcohol before allowing revelers into the main party area.
The anti-government “yellow vest” movement has called for “non-violent and festive” protests on the New Year’s Eve.
17:00 Thailand is now celebrating the arrival of 2019. In the Buddhist-majority country, many locals travel to the Takien Temple outside Bangkok to mark the New Year with a symbolic resurrection ritual. Worshippers climb inside coffins while monks cover them with pink sheets and perform funeral rites. The symbolic rising from the dead is meant to get rid of bad luck and give the visitors a fresh start in 2019.
Thousands have attended the massive fireworks display over Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour
16:00 Although the Lunar New Year is still king in China, revelers gathered in Hong Kong for a massive fireworks display marking the arrival of 2019. In Beijing, celebrities attended a VIP gala dedicated to the 2022 Winter Games. President Xi Jingping addressed the nation before the evening news, saying that his government “sent out China’s voice” into the world.
The celebrations in China came an hour after Japan welcomed the 2019 with a bout between American boxer Floyd Mayweather and Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa. The 41-year-old American defeated the local champion in less than three minutes.
The party has already started in Berlin
15:47 Berlin opened its party mile which starts at the city’s iconic Brandenburg Gate and stretches some two kilometers (1.24 miles) west to the Victory Column. The party is set to start in a few short hours, with city officials promising “live bands, DJs and a spectacular fireworks display at midnight.” British pop singer Bonnie Tyler is also set to perform.
14:00 Brisbane celebrated New Year’s an hour later than Sydney — even though Brisbane is located 2 degrees longitude east of Sydney.
13:00 Tens of thousands have gathered in Sydney despite stormy conditions to witness the city’s spectacular fireworks show for New Year’s.
Organizers say it will be the most expensive celebration ever at 6 million Australian dollars ($4.2 million, €3.7 million). The 12-minute show was to feature 100,000 pyrotechnics and culminate at midnight with “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” a song made famous by the recently deceased Aretha Franklin.
12:00 Most of the remaining island Oceanic nations have now bid farewell to 2018.
11:00 Fiji, Tuvalu, and New Zealand have now joined in on the festivities. Fireworks were shot from the top of the Sky tower in downtown Auckland, New Zealand to ring in the new year.
Anadyr, the easternmost town in Russia, has also entered 2019.
10:00 Samoa has become the first full country to enter the new year. Fireworks exploded over the Samoan capital of Apia for locals and tourists who timed their visit to enter 2019 before anyone else.
The Pacific nation shifted to the zone west of the international date line eight years ago, jumping forward 24 hours and wiping out December 30, 2011.
The island of Kiritimati, part of the group of islands that makes up Kiribati, and Tokelau, an island territory belonging to New Zealand, were also among the first islands to enter the new year.
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10 German traditions on New Year’s Eve
Slide into the New Year
Shortly before New Year’s Eve, people you meet will typically wish you a “Guten Rutsch,” which literally translates as “have a good slide.” The expression could come from the Yiddish word “rosch.” Rosh Hashanah, the name of the Jewish New Year, is, however, set in the fall on a different date every year. Other linguists relate the expression to the archaic German meaning of “Rutsch” – a journey.
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10 German traditions on New Year’s Eve
Offer lucky charms
If a German gives you a little gift like this one New Year’s Eve you’re allowed to find it ugly, but you should at least know the intention is to bring you good luck for the new year. Lucky charms in Germany include such “Glückspilze” (lucky mushrooms), ladybugs, four-leaf clovers and little pigs.
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10 German traditions on New Year’s Eve
Prepare a big bowl of ‘Bowle’
Germans might believe that “Bowle” is an English word, but it’s not at all – though it’s probably derived from the word “bowl” – as you need a huge one to serve it. “Bowle” is a German term for punch. For many Germans, this is a must-have party drink on New Year’s Eve. Typically combining fruits, alcohol and juice, there are countless recipes, including delicious alcohol-free variations.
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10 German traditions on New Year’s Eve
Enjoy hours of food
Although you might end up at a party with a buffet of finger food, many people choose dishes that can be eaten over several hours as their last meal of the year, such as fondue, in which pieces of meat are cooked in hot oil. Also popular is raclette (pictured), where cheese is melted on a table-top grill, accompanied by meats, pickles and potatoes. The long meal shortens the wait until midnight.
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10 German traditions on New Year’s Eve
Look into the future by melting lead
For this New Year’s Eve custom, people heat a little piece of lead or tin melt in a spoon held over a small flame, and then drop it quickly into cold water. The strange shapes it then takes on are supposed to reveal what the year will bring. This fortune-telling method is called “Bleigiessen” (lead pouring), but alternatives to lead as a raw material are now being used after it was banned.
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10 German traditions on New Year’s Eve
Laugh with the cult classic ‘Dinner for One’
In 1963, a British sketch, “Dinner for One,” was broadcast for the first time on German TV – and has been aired on December 31 for many years, becoming the most frequently repeated TV program ever. It’s in English, but the humor is easy to get. An aristocrat woman celebrates her 90th birthday; her butler, covering for her absent guests, gets drunk, repeating “the same procedure as every year.”
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10 German traditions on New Year’s Eve
Listen to the chancellor’s New Year’s speech
Angela Merkel has held many already: The chancellor’s New Year’s speech to the nation has been broadcast on December 31 since 1969. The speech can sound very similar from year to year – sometimes more literally than others. In 1986, Chancellor Helmut Kohl’s address from 1985 was re-aired instead of the new one, allegedly “by mistake.”
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10 German traditions on New Year’s Eve
Wish a Happy New Year
After counting down the last seconds of the year, you can kiss the people you love, wish everyone the best for the upcoming year and contact your family and friends who aren’t with you. “Frohes neues Jahr” is German for Happy New Year. Some people might light sparklers like this woman, but many Germans have more ambitious fireworks ready to be lit at midnight…
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10 German traditions on New Year’s Eve
Start the New Year with a bang
At the stroke of midnight, it might be difficult to sincerely wish people around you a Happy New Year, as loud fireworks start exploding everywhere. In Germany, consumer fireworks can be legally sold over the last three days of the year to be lit for the big night. Some people stock up to put on a bombastic show for the neighbors. Traditionally, loud noises were believed to drive out evil spirits.
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10 German traditions on New Year’s Eve
Drink a glass of ‘Sekt’ at midnight
Clinking glasses might not be as loud as fireworks; filled with champagne or “Sekt” (German sparkling wine), they can definitely help people get in good spirits. The midnight toast is an international tradition, but the Germans have a specific expression to say cheers that night: “Prosit Neujahr.” The word “Prosit” comes from Latin and means “may it succeed.”
dv,dj/kms (dpa, Reuters)
Article source: http://www.dw.com/en/new-year-s-2019-around-the-world-live-updates/a-46905676?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf