It's time to ring in the new and ring out the old...

On the eve of December 31, people around the world will anxiously watch the ticking of the clock with their hearts filled with hopes for the dawn of a new tomorrow. And, at the stroke of midnight, the entire world will burst into life with sounds of firecrackers, music, and laughter echoing everywhere.

The New Year, 2010 will be ushered in with much celebrations like all the other years have been, in the past. But, this year has a special significance for the people of our land; it's the first international New Year we are celebrating since the dawn of peace in our Motherland.

The era of war and terror is certainly behind us, with the defeat of the LTTE, after nearly three decades of ethnic conflict. The entire nation breathed a sigh of relief when finally terrorism was defeated. The biggest monster that was virtually swallowing up our Motherland, killing innocent people, destroying our economy and breaking the morale and spirit of our people, the LTTE and its leader, were finally silenced; the foundation for a better tomorrow was laid.

Today, we are on the threshold of that 'new tomorrow' with a new calendar year marking a decade into the new millennium which will dawn at the stroke of midnight on December 31.

It's the time to ring out the old and ring in the new and start afresh. Now is the time to fill our hearts with new hope for a brighter future, dream of that impossible dream and aspire to achieve goals that seemed so difficult to surmount in our lives this year.

A new year always makes us breathe a sigh of relief because we can leave behind the old year with its highs and lows, victories and defeats.

With the dawn of the New Year we have a 'clean slate' before us to leave our imprint. The dreams and goals we had in the old year but failed to achieve can now be pursued once more. A new year is the time to make a fresh start and turn over a new leaf.People around the world are waiting anxiously for the dawn of 2010. Are you ready to welcome the New Year?

Make a firm commitment to step into the New Year with a smile on your face and a song in your heart; a song of love, peace and harmony.

There is so much strife, turmoil and violence in the world today, caused by man in addition to the escalating natural disasters we've had to face due to global difference, and the coming year is the best time to do so. We cannot change the world, but we can certainly change!