New Year's celebrations around the world marked the start of 2025 with diverse traditions and festivities.
Displays may have been a focus of international attention as they beamed into lounge rooms around the world, but there was no shortage of festivities to usher in 2025 around the world. As is customary Kiribati was the first country to start the year as the clock ticked over in the Pacific.The first major fireworks display of the year, though, took place in Auckland where an impressive display centred on the city’s Sky Tower.
Thousands thronged into the city and climbed the city’s ring of volcanic peaks for a vantage point. Much of Japan shut down ahead of the nation’s biggest holiday, as temples and homes underwent a thorough cleaning, including swatting floor mats called “tatami” with big sticks. The upcoming Year of the Snake in the Asian zodiac is heralded as one of rebirth – alluding to the reptile shedding its skin. Stores in Japan, which observes the zodiac cycle from January 1, have been selling tiny figures of smiling snakes and other snake-themed products. Other places in Asia will start marking the Year of the Snake later, with the Lunar New Year. New Year will be more subdued than usual in South Korea this year as the country mourns those killed in the recent Jeju Air plane disaster.In South Korea, celebrations were cut back or cancelled as the country observes a period of national mourning following theIn Thailand’s Bangkok, two major shopping malls competed for crowds with live musical acts and fireworks shows. New Year celebrations in Jakarta were featuring a dazzling fireworks display, including a drone show, followed by countdowns to midnight at the city’s iconic Hotel Indonesia Roundabout.Chinese state media covered an exchange of New Year’s greetings between leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a reminder of growing closeness between two leaders who face tensions with the West. A giant balloon flies outside the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia ahead of New Year’s Eve celebration
New Year's Eve Celebrations International Events Cultural Traditions 2025
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