Marking the New Year is a global celebration. It’s the
most widely celebrated public holiday and its most important significance is time,
remembering the past year and looking to the future. The New Year is a fresh
start for everyone everywhere and what’s better than that.
Spending most of my career in places other than home, it’s
been an exciting trip to see people in other cities and countries revel in the
New Year. I've brought in the New Year on every continent except Antarctica and in most of the major cities in the world First to celebrate as the timeline moves around the world are New
Zealand and Australia. In Sydney, we bobbed on a cruising yacht in the harbor
as the famous bridge exploded in color. People lined the streets and the waterfront
and cheered for half an hour non-stop.Auckland celebrates in the center of the city where there is a
large magnificent park. They make an evening of it with concerts going into very late (or early) hours..
Hogmanay is what they call it in Scotland and it’s a party.
For three days the Scots celebrate in the hills around Edinburgh, in the
castles and on every street in the city. Tradition dictates that the” first
foot” over your threshold in the New Year will bring you good luck, should it
come from a tall, dark stranger bringing whisky and shortbread…especially
scotch whisky…and the cookies ain’t bad either. I’ve had to play that
part while watching one of my all-time favorite Celts, Dougie MacLean, play his
music in the Great Hall above the city. Very special.
New York is pure American. Big, loud and boisterous. If you
can get more people in the space of Times Square, it would be a miracle.
It’s quite a party and you know you’ve done it when you drag yourself into bed
sometime very, very early in the morning. Start spreading the news…
The spectacular fireworks at the Space Needle in Seattle
have become the cornerstone of the celebration on the west coast of America.
The landmark is so iconic. With almost half a million watching in person from
the grounds of Seattle Center and from their homes in surrounding
neighborhoods, it’s a heart-stopping 8-minutes that erupts in Seahawk-like
cheers that can be heard from one end of the town to the other when it’s over.
Can give you chills.
The warmth of the Hawaiian Islands brings the international
celebration to a close. It’s hard to tell that it’s midnight because everything
happens on “island time”, which means “whenever”. But it does happen. Hawaii is
a lot about family and that’s where you see the celebrating going on. On Kauai
Island, the Waimea Holiday Parade kicks things off and it’s one of those real
hometown parades…high school bands, cheerleaders, karate school students, the
Island Rotary Club float and BIG semi-trucks with more LED’s than you can
count. Carport parties mark New Year’s Eve. Almost every house has a
carport and every one is filled with family and friends along with delicious food and drink…fresh coconut
milk will go with most anything, I might add. We were eating dinner at one of
the Island’s nicest restaurants when the cooks began throwing firecrackers on
the grill. That’ll bring you out of your seat. You have to be ready for
anything in the islands. It’s a big finish.
No matter where you are though, New Year’s is people
enjoying themselves with those they love close around. It’s a comforting
feeling and great way to mark time. In a world that never stops moving and a time where communication brings us all right next door to each other, there is solace in a celebration that has no message or politics except that we're all in this together...we've made it through another year...and now we're heading into a mostly unknown and uncertain future together. What an adventure. Happy New Year, wishing us all health, happiness and heart.
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