New Year's Worldwide

	Rio Rings It In

At the stroke of midnight on Sunday night, tall flutes of sparkling champagne will be poured and sipped as people the world over toast the arrival of the New Year.

Kisses, hugs and well-wishes will be exchanged as colorful streamers and gold and silver confetti flutter in the air and fireworks illuminate the sky.

Starting from the east, the celebration of new beginnings will commence and continue till the clocks ring in 12 all over the globe.

Different cultures usher in the new year in different ways. Some gather to watch the famous glittering ball drop in New York City's Times Square, while others will meet to watch the spectacular fireworks at Sydney harbor in Australia.

Although the celebrations and traditions may vary, the energy that's sparked by New Year's Eve will be present no matter where the party.

Beachfront in Brazil

More than 2 million people gather on candlelit Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, a couple of hours before midnight on Dec. 31.

Each will bring a bottle of champagne and most will wear white, says 24-year-old Shana Claudio, a public relations professional living in New York City. As a Brazilian native, no matter where Claudio has lived, each year she has gone back to her home country to ring in the new year.

Although a few might deviate from white clothes, "mostly everyone wears white because people in Brazil are superstitious," she explains. "They believe it will bring peace, happiness and health."

Looking down from a balcony of the bordering Copacabana Palace hotel, the masses drawn together on the beach will look like "a sea of white."

Underneath the white, it's even traditional for women to wear different colored underwear depending on what they want in the coming year. For money, ladies choose yellow; for peace, white; and those longing for love will wear pink, Claudio says.

After a family dinner, people meet friends and walk together to Copacabana. Everyone usually gathers early because they know there will be hordes of people and nobody wants to miss the fireworks. The revelers sit on the beach drinking and talking -- or dancing -- while they wait.

People also buy white flowers from nearby sellers and step barefoot into the dark Atlantic, make a wish and throw the flowers into the ocean as an offering to Yemanja, goddess of the sea. And when the clock strikes midnight, everyone uncorks their bottles.

"You see the corks flying everywhere as white flowers wash up on the sand," Claudio reminisces. "It's really beautiful."

After midnight and the fireworks, some take their shoes off, step into the water with their right foot and jump three waves for good luck, she says. Some also eat grapes and keep the seeds in their wallets for good luck, until they are replaced the following year.