The Borough of Harmony will be injecting an unusual twist to New Year's Eve celebrations in the county on Dec. 31.

It will be a positive opportunity that can be supported by attendees of the other two county New Year's events without people having to miss those events.

That's because the Harmony celebration will be based on the time in Berlin, Germany, not Harmony.

The arrival of 2008 thus will be celebrated in Harmony at 6 p.m. on Dec. 31, the same time people in Berlin will be celebrating it, with the borough's celebration winding down in the early evening.

Butler's Ring in the Arts and a New Year's Eve celebration in Mars are centered primarily on evening activities leading up to midnight on Eastern Standard Time.

It is Harmony's German heritage that is the basis for the unusually timed local celebration and will be another ingredient in the community's efforts to capitalize on that heritage.

In August and October, Historic Harmony sponsors German dinners, and in November the borough will hold its annual WeihnachtMarkt, a German-style Christmas market in which artists and vendors offer a sample of German holiday season traditions.

According to Jeff Smith, president of the borough council, the idea for the Harmony New Year's event evolved from discussions with business people and the Harmony Business Association. The community can regard itself as fortunate to have leaders who are willing to look beyond their daily responsibilities for ways to better the place where they live and work.

Many communities of Harmony's size are not so fortunate.

Ideas for the Dec. 31 festivities still are evolving, but Smith said the event could include fireworks, a 5K road race and ice carving. The uncertainty of weather conditions on that day will require that the celebration have flexibility and contingency plans, if activities must be adjusted in the final days or hours leading up to the event.

To the community's credit, the event, which is expected to cost about $5,500, already is receiving financial support via donations from companies and organizations.

Much of the projected cost already has been covered by those donations.

The borough council has authorized a $1,500 contribution to the event to be used for fireworks.

For Harmony and the county's other two New Year's Eve events, it is to be hoped that the weatherman cooperates in order for many people to be able to enjoy more than one of the three celebrations.

The calendar says it still is spring, but, as Harmony is showing, it is not too early to begin thinking about noisemakers and brushing up on the lyrics of "Auld Lang Syne."

A day traditionally devoted to celebration, good cheer and hope for a prosperous future is about to get better.