Happy New Year 2009

After the most volatile financial year in decades, people paused for a deep breath and a sip of … perhaps something cheaper than champagne.

Sydney, Australia, was the world’s first major city to ring in 2009, showering its shimmering harbor with a kaleidoscope of light that drew cheers from more than a million people.

Fireworks explode over the Sydney Harbour Bridge during a pyrotechnics show to celebrate the New Year

We sincerely hope that 2009 will be a year of peace and progress.

Fireworks explode over the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House during a pyrotechnic show to celebrate the New Year January 1, 2009. Known for its choreographed and themed fireworks displays, this year’s show, nicknamed “The Creation Storm”, draws hundreds of thousands of people to the harbour foreshore to watch the spectacle.

Fireworks explode behind the Big Ben clock on the Houses of Parliament and London Eye ferris wheel (Millenium Wheel) in London during a pyrotechnic show to celebrate the New Year

New Year fireworks explode near the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur as Malaysia entered 2009.

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates a New Year’s Eve vespers service, at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2008. Pope Benedict XVI is calling for “sobriety and solidarity” in 2009 as the world struggles with economic and social woes. His appeal was made amid the splendor of St. Peter’s Basilica during a New Year’s Eve vespers service on Wednesday. Benedict described these times as being “marked by uncertainty and worry for the future.”

Former US President Bill Clinton and his wife US Senator Hillary Clinton dance at midnight in Times Square after pushing the button to lower the crystal ball during New Year festivities in New York.

Fireworks are seen over the Red Square as people gathered and celebrated New Year’s Day on an ice drink in Red Square in Moscow

Fireworks explode over Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbor celebrating the 2009 New Year in Hong Kong.

Fireworks are seen during New Year’s Eve festivities in downtown Tokyo. Peoples set balloons free in the air to celebrate the New Year at Zojoji Buddhist temple in Japan.

Fireworks explode over Marina Bay and the Esplanade theaters during a pyrotechnic show to celebrate the New Year in Singapore January 1, 2009.

Fireworks light up the night sky during the New Year celebration at the Naksan swimming beach in Yangyang, about 270 km (168 miles) east of Seoul.

South Koreans watch firework during New Year’s Eve in downtown Seoul. Hundreds of thousands people celebrate the New Year.

Fireworks explode during the opening of the national programme Vilnius, “European Capital of Culture 2009″ and “Millennium of Lithuania” in New Year celebrations in Vilnius. The show was created especially for Lithuania by Gert Hof, the world�s most famous artist of lights.

Fireworks explore over Vienna’s “New Year’s eve path” with it’s ferris wheel turning on Wednesday. Hundreds of locals tourists gathered in downtown of Vienna, Austria to welcome the New Year.

Police constable Lee Dingsdale receives a kiss from Aiden Cooper as revellers take to Princes Street in Edinburgh, Scotland. Around 100,000 people are expected to brave freezing temperatures to see in the bells in the Scottish capital.

Fireworks explode in Jakarta to celebrate New Year, on the night of December

Fireworks explode from the world’s tallest completed skyscraper Taipei 101 during New Year celebrations in Taiwan.

Fireworks explode above Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro January 1, 2009. More than two million people gathered along Rio’s most famous beach to witness the 20-minute display and celebrate the beginning of a new year.

Fireworks explode during New Year’s day celebrations in Quebec City. The fireworks also marked the end of the celebrations for the 400th anniversary of foundation of Quebec City.

Vietnamese gathered in the city center to celebrate new year’s eve as the streaks of motorcycle lights and flying candlelit balloons are seen in the central Hanoi. Although the Vietnamese new year ‘Tet’ is celebrated on the same day as Chinese New Year, tens of thousands of people came out to the street to celebrate the Western new year.

Fireworks explode in front of National Congress during a pyrotechnic show to celebrate the New Year in Brasilia.

Revellers celebrate the New Year by watching the Eiffel tower in Paris, France.

Fireworks explode over the Acropolis Hill in Athens during the New Year’s celebrations in Athens, Greece

Spectators watch a fireworks display during a New Year’s Eve countdown along Manila bay, Philippine

Fireworks explode behind the Christmas tree during a pyrotechnic show to celebrate the New Year in Skopje

People watch the fireworks during a New Year celebration in Havana January 1, 2009. 50th anniversary of the revolution at La Cabana castle in Havana, after Fidel Castro led a band of rebels to victory over U.S.-backed dictator Fulgencio Batista, his revolution goes on, Cuba firmly in its grip, in what some view as a triumph and others a tragedy.

Fireworks light the sky above the Quadriga at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin shortly after midnight, greeting the New Year, Thursday, Jan. 1, 2009. Hundred thousands of people celebrated the beginning of the New Year 2009 in Germany’s capital.

People celebrate New Year as fireworks illuminate the sky at Universal City in California. Revellers rang in the New Year in the US, hard on the heels of celebrations in Europe and Asia, as global economic jitters, conflict in the Middle East and tragedy in Thailand cast a long shadow on the dawn of 2009.

The annual New Year’s Eve midnight fireworks display is seen from below the Sky Tower as New Year is welcomed on December 31, 2008 in Auckland, New Zealand.

Fireworks are seen during New Year’s Eve festivities in downtown Budapest.

Burning candles form the likeness of a 2009 at the Southwest University campus to see in the New Year in Chongqing, China. Chinese welcome 2009, bidding farewell to the eventful year 2008.

Palestinian youths celebrate the new year during a candle light vigil in the West Bank city of Bethlehem on December 31, 2008 to show their solidarity with the people of Gaza, as Israel’s massive bombing campaign was set to enter its sixth day. Hamas vowed to fight “until the last breath” if Israel makes good on threats to send ground troops into Gaza after rejecting calls for a truce and pressing on with its air assault that so far killed at least 393 Palestinians.