New Year’s 2012 celebrated around the world (Photos)
A Sri Lankan traditional dancer performs in Colombo on December 31, 2011. The ceremony was conducted to ward off bad spirits in the 2012 New Year.
Celebrations around the world have begun for New Year's 2012.
Sydney brought in the New Year with a multi-million dollar fireworks display. Taiwan's own firework display was so big that it obscured the world's second tallest building, stated BBC.
In Tokyo, people sent balloons into the air carrying messages of hope for the New Year.
"I hope it will be a year full of smiles. For those who are crying now, I hope they'll be smiling too," Horie Soichiro, 21, told the BBC.
And at least one man in Pakistan had his barber shave "2012" into his hair.
Not all New Year's celebrations are particularly safe. GlobalPost's South Africa correspondent Erin Conway-Smith writes that in a neighborhood in Johannesburg, people gather to throw appliances from high-rise buildings.
Preparation for this unusual New Year's Eve tradition starts weeks ahead of Dec. 31, with Hillbrow residents stockpiling old fridges, TVs, microwaves and couches on the roofs of tall buildings in this dense urban area.
How are you celebrating the New Year? Share your stories in the comments section below.
Read more: GlobalPost's 2011 In & Out list