New York's annual count down to the new year wouldn't be complete without couples who kiss at midnight
and confetti that falls like snow in Times Square. And now, workers are putting the finishing touches
on a new Waterford crystal ball that will signal of the start of the new year and stay on display as a
tourist attraction.
Organizers of the New Year's Eve Party say the new ball is bigger and brighter than ever before. 2,700
Waterford crystals feature a new "let there be joy" design and they depict an angel with uplifted arms.
The triangles also have cuts on both sides to maximize the light refraction within them. When it drops
on New Year's Eve, more than 32,000 LED bulbs will light up.
The new ball will drop from a new taller mast. Less than a week after the New Year celebration, the ball
will be raised half way up the mast where it will stay untill next year's celebration. But officials say
it will also be used for other events, including Valentines day, the 4th of July and Halloween.
Carlotta Bradley, The Associated Press
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* confetti : 《단수취급》 (결혼식·퍼레이드 따위에서 뿌리는) 색종이 조각.
* put the finishing[final] touches to : ~의 마무리를 하다
* stay on as~ : ~로서 계속 남다, 머물다
* feature : 특징, 특색, 특색을 이루다
* depict : 표현하다
* refraction : (빛,소리 따위의) 굴절(작용)
* LED : light-emitting diode(발광(發光) 다이오드)
* light up : 빛나다
* mast : 높은 기둥
