Ghana enters New Year with prayers and revelry

Christians prayed and sang in praise of Jesus Christ, whilst tons of fireworks lit the night sky amidst jubilation as Ghanaians gave spiritual and secular welcome to the New Year 2012.

Elsewhere, other citizens, mainly the youth, danced their way into 2012 at night clubs and discotheques.

The two groups had one thing in common – peace and prosperity for themselves, their country and mankind – but chose different routes to express them, a tour of Accra by Ghana News Agency on December 31st night to the dawn of January 1st, 2012 revealed.

In Accra, a lot of worshipers thronged churches clogged in white apparels. Most churches witnessed large number of congregants some of whom were unable to find seats.

Those unable to find seat were equally happy to be within church premises to welcome the New Year.

As the minutes ticked by into the New Year, there were shouts of praises and prayers that could be heard from distances signifying the dawn of year 2012. On the streets of the capital, revellers sang in groups from place to place while some youth went from house-to-house singing carols to solicit funds. Just before midnight, pastors invited their congregations to say prayers for the New Year, especially as Ghana enters another election year.

They were also to seek reconciliation with their creator as firecrackers boomed from the streets to announce the arrival of the New Year. Mainly the youth ignored the ban on certain types of firecrackers likely to cause injury, thus some were arrested for flouting the ban. But the night to the morning of the New Year, saw the crackers boomed with the approval of many as the celebrations continued. At night clubs, bands played traditional New Year songs as the youth danced and wriggled their waists to salute the new dawn.

“We all need to re-examine our lives to enable us take a new course in life. Just as the wise men, who visited Jesus, were warned in a dream not to go back the way they came, so also should Christians change their ways of life with each passing year,” a Reverend Minister at Dansoman Baptist Church stated. Ghanaians were warned that as there was a “King Herod,” who sought to kill the baby Jesus Christ, there will be some other ‘King Herod’ seeking to destroy Ghana, or Christians if individually, they keep a dogmatic kind of life without doing away with the old ways of doing things.

From North Kaneshie through Alajo, Kotobai, 37 Military Hospital, La Beach, Osu, Cantonment, High Streets, Mamprobi, Dansoman and Adabraka, GNA observed that whilst most churches were filled to capacity open air bars along the streets were also filled with young ladies and guys drinking and dancing to Azonto tempo.