2022: Which country celebrates New Year first and last? (2024)

FAQs

Which countries celebrate New Year first and last? ›

The Line Islands (part of Kiribati), Samoa and Tonga, in the Pacific Ocean, are the first places to welcome the New Year, while American Samoa, Baker Island and Howland Island (part of the United States Minor Outlying Islands) are among the last.

Israel. Israel uses the Gregorian calendar but does not formally celebrate New Year's Eve or New Year's Day on December 31/January 1. The Jewish New Year is celebrated during Rosh Hashanah, which will occur on September 25 in 2014.

The last inhabited places to celebrate are the islands of Niue and American Samoa to the southwest of Kiribati in the South Pacific. The day technically ends an hour later in the U.S. territories of Baker Island and Howland Island, but both are uninhabited, Eggert says.

Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival, is celebrated in China and by Chinese communities worldwide. Unlike the Gregorian calendar, which follows a fixed date, the Chinese New Year is based on the lunar calendar and falls between January 21st and February 20th.

It should be noted that the last places on Earth to transition to the year are Baker Island and Howland Island. However, since both of these islands are uninhabited, you would be wise to choose American Samoa, Tahiti, or Hawaii as your travel destination.

Facts dependent on the IDL

According to the clock, the first areas to experience a new day and a New Year are islands that use UTC+14:00. These include portions of the Republic of Kiribati, including Millennium Island in the Line Islands.

Those who adhere to the revised Julian calendar (which synchronizes dates with the Gregorian calendar), including Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Romania, Syria, and Turkey, observe both the religious and civil holidays on January 1.

As the world welcomed the year 2024 early Monday (Jan 1), certain countries and cities did not celebrate New Year due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. According to reports, Pakistan and Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) banned New Year celebrations.

The Pacific nation of Kiribati was the first country to see in the new year. The country's largest island, Kiritimati - which is also known as Christmas Island - entered 2024 at 10am UK time.

Where is the world's largest new year's Eve celebration? ›

One of the longest New Year's Eve fireworks shows in the world, the Rio de Janeiro display lasts for almost 20 minutes. Anywhere from 2 to 3 million people crowd Copacabana Beach each year to celebrate and watch the stunning show, called Révellion.

World's best New Year's parties - Rio

Rio's Copacabana Beach plays host each New Year's Eve to Reveillon, the world's largest and wildest New Year's celebration. More than 2 million cariocas (Rio natives) congregate on the beach wearing stark white attire and filling a 2 1/2-mile stretch of sand.

Which country will welcome New Year first? The Pacific Islands of Tonga, Samoa and Kiribati are the countries that will welcome New Year first. January 1 will begin at 3:30 OM Indian Standard time in these countries.

The tiny island nation of American Samoa holds the distinction of being the last inhabited place on Earth to celebrate the New Year, welcoming it at 11:00 am GMT (4:30 pm IST) on January 1st.

There is an unusual tradition in Russia – we meet two New Years. First New Year is official, and people celebrate it on December 31. And the second holiday is not official, but really interesting, as it's … Old New Year.

The 4 public holidays are: Christmas Day (25 December) Boxing Day (26 December) New Year's Day (1 January)

Caesar added 67 days to the year 46 BCE so that the new year in 45 BCE could begin on January 1. The date of January 1 was chosen to honour the Roman God of beginnings, Janus, who is believed to have two faces- one looking back into the past and the other to the future, according to a report in The Indian Express.

In all, there are 39 different local time zones in use across the globe –- some differing by 15 or 30 minutes compared to nearby zones – including two which are more than 12 hours ahead of UTC, which means it takes 26 hours for the entire world to welcome the New Year.

New Year's Day is on January 1 and is the first day of a new year in the Gregorian calendar, which is used in Australia and many other countries. Due to its geographical position close to the International Date Line, Australia is one of the first countries in the world to welcome the New Year.