New Year's celebrations around the world
People dressed as the Russian Santa Claus, Ded Moroz (Grandfather Frost), left, and his companion Snegurochka (Snow Maiden), right, take part a New Year's Eve parade in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek, Dec. 31. New Year, which was the biggest informal holiday of the year in the former Soviet Union, is also very popular in predominantly Muslim Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan.
Vyacheslav Oseledko / AFP - Getty Images