(VOVworld)- Jubilant activities to celebrate the New Year 2015 took place I major cities in Vietnam. In Hanoi, several programs were held attracting a lot of people. Nguyen Thanh Tung is a local in Hanoi: “We came here very early to have a seat to watch the performance in the Sword Lake. On the occasion of the New Year, I wish everyone health and luck. I wish that there will be more extravagant street carnivals”.

In Ho Chi Minh City, major streets were lit up with LED lights. A firework display accompanied by 3D laser light brightened the city at midnight. Philip Brown, a tourist from the US, is happy to welcome New Year in Vietnam: “I have been living in Vietnam for 3 years. These occasions are always special moments for everyone. Everything is exciting. People get together and smile happily. I wish everyone a New Year of health and success”.

People in Can Tho city gathered at Hoa Binh Avenue and shopping centers to celebrate the New Year. A special New Year program highlighting Can Tho city’s beauty and its achievements in 2014 took place in Hau River Park. Addressing the program, Le Van tam, Vice Chairman of Can Tho Municipal People Committee said: “2015 will be the last year of our 5-year plan. We will prepare for Party Congresses at various levels. The entire Party, army and people in Can Tho city are determined to fulfill all the set targets”.

Various New Year programs were held in popular places in Da Nang city including Hai Van pass, Ba Na hills, and Son Tra peninsula.

People all around the world are excited for the New Year 2015. Those in Samoa and New Zealand were the first people on the globe to welcome New Year 2015. New Zealanders gathered in Auckland to watch the firework display above the Sky Tower. Sydney city in Australia celebrated the New Year with the world’s most spectacular firework displays, which attracted more than 1.6 million people.

Chilly temperatures did not stop an estimated one million people from all over the world from packing into Times Square, where they celebrated the dawn of 2015. It’s estimated that about 200 million people in the US and 1 billion people around the world watched on TV the glittering New Year's Eve ball descending from high above and a ton of confetti wafting down onto revelers below. In Germany, more than 1 million people came to Brandenburg Gate in Berlin to welcome the New Year. People in Beijing, China welcomed the New Year with a special art program. Meanwhile, in Shanghai, thirty-five people died in a stampede during New Year's celebration— the worst disaster that hit one of China's showcase cities in recent years.

In his New Year address, Russian President Vladimir Putin said: “Love for one's motherland is one of the most powerful and uplifting feelings. It manifested itself in full in the brotherly support to the people of Crimea and Sevastopol, when they resolutely decided to return home. This event will remain a very important epoch in domestic history forever. As we review the passing year, I would like to sincerely thank you for unity and solidarity, for the deep feelings of truth, honor, justice and responsibility for the fate of your country, for the unfaltering readiness to defend Russia's interests”.

In his New Year greeting to US President Barack Obama, Putin noted that next year would be the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II - a reminder of "the responsibility that Russia and the United States bear for maintaining peace and international stability." Putin said he looked forward to working with his US counterpart to maintain "peace and international stability," but only on a basis of "equality and mutual respect."

In his message to Chinese President Xi Jinping, Putin said 2015 will bring new opportunities for win-win cooperation between the two countries. He pledged to work with China on the implementation of strategic cooperation projects and on the handling of regional and global hot spot issues.

In his New Year address, Malaysian Prime Minister najib Razak said 2014 was the most challenging year in his career and the most difficult year in Malaysia’s history summing up 12 months marked by air tragedies and the country's worst flooding in decades.