Letters: Dec. 20, 1999

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THE SIMPLE NEW YEAR'S EVE

Come on, guys! Don't dampen the millennium-celebration spirit [LIVING, Nov. 29]. In some parts of the world, people are excited and waiting for the greatest party ever! We here in Rio certainly are. Imagine passion, devotion, rhythm and respect welcoming you to the new era. ADRIAN CONSTANT Rio de Janeiro

You presented a sensible view of how to deal with millennium madness. After years of cocktail parties and late-night gatherings, my husband and I have spent the past few New Year's Eves with our four children. We've opted for a midnight family celebration with our kids at home. The next century belongs as much to our youth as to adults who will be attending those celebrations with a multitude of other people. ARLENE STEIER Omaha, Neb.

Maybe so many people are "saying no to the hype" because they know this New Year's Day is not the new millennium. That would be the next year, 2001. NEIL GARLAND Caldwell, N.J.

Your poll on what people will be doing New Year's Eve listed those who would be spending it with friends and family, alone with a spouse or alone by themselves, and those who weren't sure yet exactly what they would be doing. But what about the thousands (or maybe millions) of us who will be working through the midnight hour? We don't exist? PETER WARREN Vancouver

You missed an opportunity to mention the 200-plus cities that have First Night celebrations. Here's a simple and meaningful way to spend New Year's Eve in your own area with your neighbors. It sounds perfect to me--a party aimed at the family that is affordable and free of alcohol. It presents a smorgasbord of performances, part carnival, all within a few blocks. Afterward I will go home and, with champagne in hand, join my dog Charlie in front of the TV to watch the ball come down at midnight (taped earlier) in New York City. STEPHANIE BOOTH Monterey, Calif.

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD

On your map showing how people around the world will spend New Year's Eve [LIVING, Nov. 29], you suggested that Yanomami tribe members in Roraima, Brazil, will probably ignore the millennium and go to bed early. But at midnight the men will in all likelihood be wide awake, huddling over their campfires and talking about life, just as they do every night. A tribal leader may explain what will be going on in other parts of the world on this night. The men will stand in awe trying to fathom this--for all of three minutes, after which they'll get back to more important things, like the next day's hunt, which is after all what life is really all about. WILLIAM O'DWYER FOGTMAN Documentary Filmmaker Rio de Janeiro

Nothing on your map of global events sounds as exciting as a New Year's Eve celebrated in Timbuktu, Mali. Already fully booked by tourists for this year's celebration, a night there takes the cake for being the most original way to spend the end of the century: in Africa, at the "end of the world" in Timbuktu! SAMIRA MEGHDESSIAN Conakry, Guinea

VIRGIN ATLANTIC IS Y2K READY