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"Never has the step into a new year felt heavier," said Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson, who urged Swedes to light candles in their windows as a vigil. "We should have celebrated with fireworks and festivities. Now that feels completely wrong." 

In New York City, one of the few American cities to join in the moment of silence effort, Mayor of NYC Bloomberg said "I think we all have to look in the mirror tonight before we go to bed and recognize just how lucky we are and that not everyone else is so lucky,". So at 8:15 p.m., the crowd quieted to mark a moment of silence to honor those killed in the earthquake and
tsunami in South Asia. 

In Germany, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and others for the money usually spent on pyrotechnics to be donated to relief agencies. Germany's main party at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin went ahead, but the revelers were urged on big television screens to donate to UNICEF. TV stations turned their New Year's Eve galas into charity events for tsunami victims, raising large sums.
Near Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, where a million people gathered on New Year's Eve, flags flew at half-mast. 
Germany urged their citizens to donate some of the 100 million euros ($136 million) they would normally spend on fireworks.

In Austria, Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel urged people to forgo fireworks. The city of Innsbruck canceled its display in a silent vigil. Their Mayor Hilde Zach called the decision "a sign of solidarity" to mark "the great loss of human life." 

Sweden, Norway, Finland all flew flags at half mast to start their New Year as a mark of respect for the disaster. 

In London, moments before midnight, the crowds of over 100 thousand fell silent for two minutes in memory of the lives lost in Asia. As Big Ben struck midnight, a huge fireworks display filled the sky above the River Thames, casting a brilliant glow over West End.

In Paris, the City fathers initiated 480 scarf-like strips of black cloth to be hung along the Champs-Elysees and on light posts at the nearby Place de la Concorde a deliberately poignant and touching gesture to victims. 
"This night cannot be ordinary because of this mourning affecting the entire planet," deputy Mayor Anne Hidalgo said. 
Parisians still celebrated, but said the tragedy weighed on their minds. 

In Rome, Italian authorities asked citizens to make donations to the relief fund for the victims rather than their usual celebrations. ìThis cannot be a New Years like other onesî said Romeís Mayor Veltroni. ìThis must be a New Years of Solidarity.î
A number of Italian cities also abandoned plans for major New Year's Eve parties ? deciding instead to send the money saved to charities helping the victims.

In Australiaís capitol of Canbarra citizens raised $500,000 and paused in their New Years celebration to reflect on the disaster.
In Sydney, Australians and New Zealanders ringing in their New Year stopped their party for 1 minute at midnight to remember those in the disaster, and raised 1.2 Million dollars for the victims in only a few hours.

At South Bank Parklands in Brisbane's city, about
100,000 people gathered to watch the fireworks and observe a minute's silence to show respect for the tsunami victims, as did many other Australian municipalities expressing sensitivity and being in touch with their world.

In Sweden, Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson called for national solidarity amid muted New Year's celebrations following the devastating tsunami. 
"We can greet the New Year as welcome ... and at the same time think of all the missing." Mr Persson said.

In Scotland, there was a subdued mood also on the street's of Edinburgh, where more than 100,000 citizens converged to celebrate the traditional New Years Eve Hogmanay festival. The revelers paused their festivities and marked the disaster with a minute of silence. 

In Istanbul, with memories of their own massive earthquake that rocked north-western Turkey in 1999 and killed more than 18,000, they cancelled their concert and firework display.
 

In Asia, many were too busy counting the dead, feeding survivors and combating disease to even think about partying and festivities. 
Fireworks and celebrations were canceled throughout
Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Islamic sultanate of Brunei and much of India as these government agencies urged people to attend religious services instead. 
"Let's welcome the new year without a party because now we are filled with concern and sadness," Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said.
"Let's pray together and hopefully God will not give
us another disaster."

Even in the far distant Caribbean, one of the region's largest New Year's Eve celebrations on the British territory of Jost Van Dyke was enlightened enough to be punctuated by silence. 

Some Plans cancelled

Cyprus cancelled celebrations and money that would have been spent at New Year parties in the capital Nicosia and the port town of Limassol is now donated towards relief funds. 

A New Year's Day march in Hong Kong has been postponed and people there instead plan to raise funds for tsunami victims.

In Sri Lanka, where more than 28,500 people died, President Chandrika Kumaratunga has cancelled all New
Year celebrations and declared a national day of mourning. 

Thailand has called off outdoor celebrations in memory
of its 4,500 victims and Malaysia has also decided against official festivities. 

In Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has
called for muted New Year celebrations. A fireworks display over the Marina Bay area has been cancelled. 

In Hong Kong, where disgruntled residents are used to marking public holidays with anti-government protests, political parties across the spectrum decided to postpone a New Year's Day march and instead planned to raise funds for tsunami victims. Now, in Hong Kong, local musicians and celebrities are staging a New Years Day fundraising show.

Nearly everywhere celebrations were held, moments of
silence punctuated the revelry. 

In China, the state-run television canceled its live New Year's Eve gala programming. 
 

Malaysia banned public celebrations; the Maldives, parts of Southern India, all were too overwhelmed by the tragedy to welcome the New Year.  Pramech Goel - an events manager with India Habitat Center in New Delhi said: "We have canceled all the New Year's Eve celebration as a mark of respect to the dead and to people who have lost their lives and others who have been displaced." 

Prayer services across the region were packed. Muslim,
Christian and Buddhist set aside religious differences, united by their grief and loss.

Other countries went ahead with long-planned parties and fireworks displays, but the tsunami and its victims were never far from people's thoughts.
 
 
 

+++ All Planet Network  Jan 1 2005

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