New Year's Traditions Around the World

• Fireworks are a common feature of New Year's Eve celebrations.
• The traditional ball drop and count down of the last few seconds to the new year takes place in Times Square, New York as well as Rio de Janeiro and Sydney.
• Some people that live in the northern hemisphere follow a tradition of plunging into cold water on New Years Day!
• In South Korea, people travel to Jung dong jin on New Year's Day -- the place where the sun first appears on the Korean peninsula.
• In the Netherlands and other European countries, the new year is ushered in with large private fireworks and some of these countries have a tradition of making bonfires using discarded Christmas trees.
• Some European countries welcome the New Year by making bonfires of discarded Christmas trees.