On December 31st, the last day of 2024, despite the rain falling as night descended, hundreds of thousands of visitors from around the world flocked to Times Square in New York City, sporting smiles of anticipation and patiently awaiting the final moments of the countdown to welcome the brand-new year of 2025. This scene showcased the unique charm of the “city that never sleeps”.
The New Year’s Eve celebration at Times Square in New York City has a history of over a hundred years. Since the first New Year’s Eve in 1907 when the crystal ball dropped and confetti rained down, this tradition has continued to captivate global attention.
As the crowd gathered on the night of the 31st, voices rang out in unison counting down “10, 9, 8, 7, 6…” as midnight struck. The 12-foot diameter, 11,875-pound crystal ball slowly descended 70 feet amidst a shower of confetti; people waved colorful ribbons and flags, cheering together to bid farewell to 2024 and welcome the dawn of 2025. The passion and joy of this moment symbolize people’s hopes and blessings for the future.
This was also a historic moment, as New York City marked its 400th anniversary. In the midst of the unknowns and challenges of 2025, people from around the world, on this New Year’s Eve, prayed for peace, good health, and happiness while also feeling the strength of America and the vitality of New York City, hoping to overcome obstacles and embrace opportunities with greater resilience in the coming year.
On New Year’s Eve, people from different places at Times Square expressed that New York City is a city full of hope and energy, where they welcome a peaceful, happy, and healthy new year of 2025, and hope for an end to wars.
Seiah, a young girl from the Philippines, faced challenges in both work and family aspects in 2024, yet she still believed it was “the best year” and looked forward to welcoming a “peaceful, happy, and hopeful new year” in New York.
She planned to vacation in New York for three months this time, citing numerous reasons she loves the city, such as the helpfulness of people when she gets lost in the subway. She described the atmosphere as fantastic, stating that New York City is the best city.
Laura, who came on vacation to New York with her nephew from Huntington Beach, California, expressed her New Year wish for everyone’s health, an end to wars, and a peaceful year. She found New York City vibrant and radiating positive energy, saying she felt great and was amazed by the incredible energy that filled the city.
Mr. Li from Taiwan, who works in Sydney, Australia, came to the US to visit friends and deliberately chose to spend New Year’s Eve in New York before going to Los Angeles on January 1st. He described his first visit to New York as very impressive, feeling a sense of vitality that made him particularly excited and eager to participate in the festivities.
As a photographer, he also mentioned his love for New York’s artistic atmosphere, expressing a willingness to work in New York if given the chance.
Jonathan from Huntington Beach, California, was visiting Times Square for the first time to celebrate New Year’s Eve. He found the atmosphere in New York full of energy and vitality, making him feel “extremely excited, super awesome”, advocating for everyone to feel greater in 2025 and vowing to carry the excitement of New Year back home.
Among the revelers were many young people, including three students from Florida State University who flew in two days ago to usher in the New Year in New York. As exchange students from Japan, they viewed New York City as an amazing place, with Times Square leaving an impression of a populous area with bright skyscrapers and a plethora of opportunities. However, they all agreed on their fondness for Florida’s warm and sunny weather, deeming it a more suitable place to reside.
One of the students, Senada, believed in more hope in the US than in Japan, expressing a desire to stay in America in the future; while Ryotaro stated that he had to return to Japan for studies four months later.
Chanyao Lee from South Korea, a student at a theological seminary and a Christian, visited New York for the first time from South Korea. The scene left him exclaiming, “So exciting!”, deeming America vast while considering New York City the most spectacular city he had seen in his life. His greatest hope for the New Year was for everyone to feel the abundance of God’s love in the world.