HAPPY NEW YEAR, 2009: Around the world, people paused for a deep breath and a sip of ... perhaps something cheaper than champagne."

It's got to be better than the last one.....

Money woes chill New Year's cheer

Clintons help Times Square ring in 2009

Thursday, January 1, 2009

NEW YORK (AP) | Hundreds of thousands of revelers rang in the New Year in a frigid Times Square, eager to say goodbye to 2008 and to put the nation's economic troubles in the past.

Former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton helped New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Wednesday lower the famous Waterford crystal ball for its 60-second countdown to midnight. A ton of confetti rained down as partygoers hugged and kissed.

Pope Benedict XVI visits the Nativity scene after a New Year's Eve Vespers service at St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.

The wind chill made it feel like 1 degree in the area, but that didn't deter the throngs who were cloaked in fur hats and sleeping bags.

"We're worried about the economy, but hoping for the best," said Lisa Mills, of Danville, Ohio.

Mrs. Mills and her husband, Ken, took her 17-year-old daughter, Kara, to Times Square for her birthday.
"We decided, we haven't taken a family vacation yet, and this was a great time to do it," she said. "We're staying positive."

Many other New Year's Eve traditions around the country were in place, but some festivities fell victim to hard times, and those that remained felt somewhat subdued. The nation's economic troubles made many people less interested in giving 2008 an expensive send-off.

Public celebrations were canceled in communities from Louisville, Ky., to Reno, Nev., and promoters in Miami Beach, Fla., reported slower ticket sales than expected for celebrity-studded parties that they say would have sold out in past years.

Tourism officials in Las Vegas expected more tourists in Sin City to celebrate New Year's Eve than last year, despite economic worries that have meant fewer visitors in 2008, Mayor Oscar Goodman said Wednesday night.

Around the world, people paused for a deep breath and a sip of ... perhaps something cheaper than champagne.