Revelers converged on New York's Times Square, the beaches of Brazil and the skyscrapers of Dubai to ring in the New Year. But amid the celebrations, tragedy struck in Shanghai, where dozens of people died in a stampede.
About 1 million people crammed into New York's Times Square to usher in 2015. Merrymakers from around the world exchanged good wishes and danced after Mayor Bill de Blasio, flanked by his wife and two children, pushed the ceremonial button that set the 11,875-pound Waterford crystal ball in motion.
It's a tradition that's being increasingly copied across the United States with twists celebrating local icons.
Among the items being dropped: a big chili in Las Cruces, N.M.; a replica peach in Atlanta; a musical note in Nashville, Tenn.; a large pine cone in Flagstaff, Ariz.; an oversized spurred cowboy boot in Prescott, Ariz.; a 600-pound walleye made of wood and fiberglass in Port Clinton, Ohio; an 80-pound wedge of cheese in Plymouth, Wis.; and a replica of a pasty -- a baked pastry filled with meat and potatoes -- in Escanaba, Mich.
Ahead of the celebrations, some U.S. cities were on alert for possible New Year's Eve protests related to recent police killings of unarmed black men.
Activists in Boston staged a peaceful "die-in" during First Night, Boston's popular New Year's Eve celebration. Police reported no arrests or disruptions to nearby festivities.
In New York, where the Police Department is still mourning two officers shot to death in a patrol car, a march was held near Times Square on Wednesday evening but did not interrupt the celebration. Security was tight, with more personnel on the streets than usual.
On the other side of the country, a blustery winter storm dumped snow and ice across the West on Wednesday, forcing residents and party-goers in some usually sun-soaked cities to bundle up for a frosty New Year's Eve.
Residents in Southern California foothills and suburban Phoenix snapped photos of lawns dusted with snow. And those planning to usher in 2015 along the Las Vegas Strip or watch flower-decorated floats in the Rose Parade on New Year's Day in Pasadena, Calif., were bracing for near-freezing temperatures.
Marco Berri, 26, of Brazil said he would likely buy some scarves and gloves to keep warm in Las Vegas, but the cold wouldn't keep him inside.
"We're gonna be in the street. It doesn't matter how cold it is," said Berri, one of about 340,000 revelers expected on New Year's Eve.
Elsewhere, the Gulf Arab emirate of Dubai was aiming to break the world record for the largest LED-illuminated facade with a display on the world's tallest building.
Some 70,000 LED panels around the 2,722-foot Burj Khalifa flashed colored lights and projected images of the country's leaders when clocks there struck midnight and a fireworks display began. The celebration draws thousands of spectators every New Year's Eve.
A team from Guinness World Records monitored the preparations. Last year, Dubai won the title for the world's largest firework display, according to Guinness.
In Brazil, more than 1 million people were expected to flock to the golden sands of Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach, where two dozen artists and DJs were to perform on three stages. Tourists and locals routinely party until dawn on the beach, staying awake to watch the tropical sun rise for the first time in 2015.
Celebrations ended in tragedy elsewhere, with 35 people killed and more than 40 others injured in a stampede about a half hour before midnight Wednesday in downtown Shanghai, China's state-run Xinhua News Agency reported.
The deaths -- the worst disaster to hit one of China's biggest cities in years -- occurred at Shanghai's popular riverfront Bund area, which can be jammed with spectators for major events.
Last week, the English-language Shanghai Daily reported that the annual New Year's Eve countdown on the Bund had been canceled after about 300,000 people flooded the area last year.
The report said a "toned-down" version of the event would be held instead but that it would not be open to the public. Nearly 2,000 revelers were expected to attend, according to the newspaper.
Shanghai Mayor Yang Xiong visited the scene early today, and the government said victims were being treated in at least four area hospitals.
In Iraq, Baghdad authorities ordered a temporary lifting of an overnight curfew to allow revelers to stay out late on the streets.
The city's curfew has been in force for more than a decade.
Traffic was unusually heavy shortly after sunset, and authorities closed commercial streets to vehicles in the city's center as a precaution against possible suicide bombings by militants of the Islamic State.
In Vatican City, Pope Francis presided over a solemn prayer service in St. Peter's Basilica on New Year's Eve, using his homily to stress life's fleetingness.
The 78-year-old spiritual leader said, "How we like to be surrounded by so many fireworks, seemingly beautiful, but which in reality last only a few minutes."
As humans, he said, there is a "time to be born and a time to die," and New Year's is a time to reflect on our mortality, "the end of the path of life."
Information for this article was contributed by Amy Taxin, Gillian Flaccus, John Antczak, Alina Hartounian, Kimberly Pierceall, Michelle Rindels and staff members of The Associated Press and by James Queally of the Los Angeles Times.
A Section on 01/01/2015