Greece welcomed 2012 with hope that the deep recession in the debt-laden country will come to an end.

Hope was the key word in messages addressed by the Greek political leadership and became a wish exchanged between families and friends across the country.

Interim Prime Minister Lucas Papademos used the occasion to speak of hope for the New Year in his message, calling on all Greeks to unite to tide over the crisis.

Despite the low temperatures, thousands of people packed Kotzia Square in front of the City Hall of Athens to watch the performance of City's Philharmonic Band and local music groups with spectacular fireworks display over the Acropolis hill.

Celebrations in Athens this year were held with a limited budget due to the debt crisis, but decisiveness of ordinary citizens to fight on to overcome the challenge was strong.

Experts predicted that 2012 will be another difficult year for Greece. Papademos reiterated commitment to an austerity and reform drive to counter the crisis within the euro zone.

Greece has been hit hard since late 2009 by a debt crisis which has pushed the euro zone to the brink of financial collapse, triggering fears of a possible domino effect across the continent.

Since 2010 Greece has depended on vital international bailout loans to tackle the crisis. In early 2012, Greece is expected to finish up the latest round of negotiations with creditors on the terms of further aid to avert a default and restore growth.

Greek President Karolos Papoulias, in his New Year message, focused on the need to ease the burden on the most vulnerable groups of the society, stressing that 2012 will be a decisive year in efforts to end recession.