“Every year on Dec. 31, the approach of midnight finds us drawing a line in time. The way we do this varies — we eat black-eyed peas, or fling open the windows, or run into an icy ocean — but the idea is always the same. On this night, we put something behind us and seal it off, so it is part of the past. And then we try to begin again.” E. Barry, The New York Times, December 2020
A clear message was being sent in Times Square this week.Credit…Carlo Allegri:Reuters
Three, two, one: Let’s put 2020 behind us. Ellen Barry, The New York Times
“It is difficult to imagine any year when our need of this ritual has been greater. Many of us have lost those dearest to us, and absorbed those losses in isolation. Livelihoods have been wiped away like vapor from a window. And yet, without the fireworks, the giddiness of crowds, we have never been so constrained in our rituals.
That does not mean we are not celebrating. Inside lighted rooms, we will raise glasses to the people who sacrificed for us, to the triumphant performance of our health care workers, and to a thousand small kindnesses already receding from memory. Yeah, yeah, the end of a year may be an illusion, just a way to trick ourselves into keeping going. But we made it.”
Here are some ways you can see off the year, virtually J. Gross and M. Fazio, The New York Times
How to commemorate the end of a year of widespread unemployment, racial unrest and political animosity, not to mention an ongoing pandemic? If you’re at home looking for a festive yet socially distanced way to bid farewell to 2020, consider taking a virtual trip around the world.
New Year’s Eve was celebrated like no other, with pandemic restrictions limiting crowds in Beijing and other major cities in China.Credit…Ng Han Guan:Associated Press
The midnight fireworks above the Sydney Harbor Bridge and Sydney Opera House were opulent, but the streets were nearly empty this year.Credit…Matthew Abbott for The New York Times
In New York City, a crystal ball will still drop from One Times Square, complete with confetti and “Auld Lang Syne.” A livestream of the event starts at 6 p.m. Eastern, and it will be covered on “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” hosted by Ryan Seacrest on ABC, and “CNN’s New Year’s Eve,” hosted by Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen.
Times Square, NYC December 21, 2020
FROM ESL-VOICES: HAVE A PROSPEROUS AND SAFE NEW YEAR!
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