3… 2… 1! While much of the world is just beginning preparations for 2022, many countries are already on the first day of a new year.
Mexico City, December 31 (AP) .– With striking fireworks and low-key celebrations, and sometimes with masks to protect themselves from the coronavirus, the world began to go from 2021 a 2022. As the Omicron variant secures its dominance, many are clinging to hope that the New Year will bring better days.
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Fireworks explode over the Chao Phraya River during New Years celebrations in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo: Wason Wanichakorn, AP.
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A Palestinian woman takes photos of her children near the beach on the last day of the year in Gaza City on Friday, December 31, 2021. Photo: Adel Hana, AP.
Some residents of Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates, went to the luxury hotels in front of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower in the world, to witness a fireworks and laser lights show.
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A group of people wearing masks hold numbers to receive 2022 in Ahmedabad, India, on Friday, December 31, 2021. Photo: Ajit Solanki, AP.
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People light sparklers as they celebrate the New Year in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Dec. 31, 2021. Photo: Amr Nabil, AP.
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An attendee at an event that coincided with New Year’s Eve smiles as artificial snow comes out of a machine in Beijing, China, on Friday, Dec. 31, 2021. Photo: Ng Han Guan, AP.
“If you don’t celebrate, life will pass you by,” said Lujain Orfi, a 26-year-old tourist from the holy city of Medina in Saudi Arabia.
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Many people celebrate New Year’s Eve in Belgrade, Serbia, on Friday, December 31, 2021. Photo: Darko Vojinovic, AP.
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People celebrate the New Year in front of a Christmas bazaar next to Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 31, 2021. Photo: Efrem Lukatsky, AP.
In the Serbian capital, Belgrade, large crowds gathered for open-air concerts and fireworks and lights shows. Unlike other places in Europe, massive rallies were allowed here.
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A couple kiss to celebrate the arrival of the new year at the famous crossroads of Shibuya, a popular site for New Years celebrations in Tokyo, on Saturday, January 1, 2022, although the official count was canceled. Photo: Kiichiro Sato, AP.
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Fireworks over the Sydney Opera House as Sydney New Years celebrations kick off on Friday, December 31, 2021. Photo: Dean Lewins, AAP Image via AP.
In Japan, people – wearing face masks – crowded temples and shrines, dined and drank in central Tokyo, and packed shopping areas.
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Students hold candles as they bid farewell to 2021 and greet 2022 in Lahore, Pakistan, on Friday, Dec. 31, 2021. Photo: KM Chaudary, AP.
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People celebrate during a New Years concert in Hong Kong on Saturday, January 1, 2022. Photo: Vincent Yu, AP.
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People celebrate the arrival of 2022 in Hong Kong. Photo: Vincent Yu, AP.
“I hope the holidays are blessed for all of us,” said Naoki Matsuzawa, a writer who lives in Yokohama, southwest of Tokyo. He plans to spend the next few days as a volunteer cooking and handing out New Year’s food to the elderly.
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A Ukrainian soldier takes a break near a fighting position on the dividing line with pro-Russian rebels in the Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 31, 2021. Photo: Andriy Dubchak, AP.