Fireworks light the sky Sunday above the Quadriga at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin shortly after midnight, greeting the New Year, Sunday.

Fireworks explode Sunday over the ancient Acropolis Hill with the Parthenon temple during the New Year's celebrations in Athens.

A man lights an Old Man effigy Sunday which symbolizes burning the past and getting ready to start a happy New Year without bad memories of the past in Mumbai, India.

Georgians dressed as Santa Clauses parade Saturday in downtown Tbilisi, Georgia.

A man arranges firecrackers at a stall Friday along a busy shopping district in Manila, Philippines. Despite injuries and fire caused by firecrackers, many Filipinos still buy the items to welcome the New Year in the belief that it will drive away bad spirits.

A Filipino boy looks at his injured hands Sunday following his treatment after sustaining injuries from firecrackers at New Year at Manila's Rizal Park, Philippines. More than 200 people have been injured by illegal firecrackers and celebratory gunfire in the Philippines despite a government scare campaign against reckless New Year revelries, officials recently said.

A Filipino clerk lists patients injured by firecrackers at the Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center during New Year celebrations in Manila, Philippines on Sunday Jan. 1, 2012. More than 200 people have been injured by illegal firecrackers and celebratory gunfire in the Philippines despite a government scare campaign against reckless New Year revelries, officials recently said. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)

Buddhist monks walk past Thais waiting for a mass prayer to begin as part of a New Year celebrations Saturday in Bangkok, Thailand.

Pope Benedict XVI holds the ostensory as he celebrates a New Year's Eve vespers service Saturday in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. The Pontiff marked the end of 2011 with prayers of thanks and said humanity awaits the new year with apprehension but also with hope for a better future.

Fireworks burst over the Sydney Harbour Bridge, center, and the Opera House, right, during New Year's celebrations in Sydney, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

Revelers celebrate the New Year on Sunday on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris.

A giant dragon lantern is displayed Sunday to celebrate the New Year near the border village of Panmunjom (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas since the Korean War, at Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, South Korea. The year 2012 is celebrated as the year of the dragon on the Chinese lunar calendar.