| en_2342334_0 “Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering ‘it will be happier’…” -Thus wrote Lord Alfred Tennyson in one of his most celebrated plays, the foresters. | |
| en_2342334_1 It is with this spirit of hope that people across the globe usher in the New Year – and this spirit was captured by News 1st cameras across Sri Lanka. | |
| en_2342334_2 Fireworks displays and other leisure and entertainment events were organised across the country to bid farewell to 2016 and welcome 2017. | |
| en_2342334_3 The fireworks display at the Galle Face Green also featured a laser lights show. | |
| en_2342334_4 For many in Sri Lanka, New Year’s eve was spent in places of worship, an opportunity to reflect on the year that was and to seek spiritual guidance for the challenges and opportunities in the year ahead. | |
| en_2342334_5 Devotees gathered at the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic since the morning of January 1, to pay homage along with the dawn of the New Year. | |
| en_2342334_6 Similar scenes were witnessed at the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi in Anuradhapura, where devotees had gathered in numbers since morning. | |
| en_2342334_7 The spiritual calling felt by the followers of the religious faiths in Sri Lanka and the festive cheer of the New Year, demonstrated the common hopes and aspirations of the people as a whole. | |
| en_2342334_8 Meanwhile countries around the world are celebrating a new year as they welcome in 2017. | |
| en_2342334_9 Samoa was the first to celebrate 2017 with New Zealand and Australia soon afterwards. | |
| en_2342334_10 Hong Kong rang in the new year in style with an impressive colourful firework display. | |
| en_2342334_11 Dubai put on an impressive show when it hit midnight in the United Arab Emirates. | |
| en_2342334_12 Moscow celebrated an hour later, along with Ankara, Baghdad and others. | |
| en_2342334_13 In Berlin, armoured tanks were deployed and a major police presence was on hand for the display at the Brandenburg Gate. | |