New Year's Day times around the world

Which country was fortunate enough to enter 2024 earliest in the world ?

People celebrate the New Year at Sydney Harbour Bridge in Australia in 2020. Photo: GETTY IMAGES

Being surrounded by loved ones and watching the colorful fireworks at the moment of the New Year's transition is sure to be one of the most joyful and magical moments of the year. Therefore, it's no surprise that people in countries all over the world love to celebrate this occasion. It's a day everyone looks forward to, no matter their age or where they live.

So, do you know where the first place to welcome 2024 will be? Because there are 38 different time zones on Earth, it takes 26 hours for the New Year to officially arrive across all of them. That's why some areas will be shouting "Happy New Year" even earlier.

The first country to welcome 2024:

The first place to welcome the new year is Kiritimati Island, part of the Republic of Kiribati. This small island, also known as Christmas Island, is located in the world's furthest time zone, 19 hours ahead of New York City in the United States.

Kiritimati Island enters the new year almost a day earlier than the United States. In fact, when Kiritimati enters its first day of January 1, 2024, after midnight, it will only be 5:00 AM on December 31, 2023, in New York.

The regions that celebrate the New Year earliest:

1. The Chatham Islands (part of New Zealand) are the second earliest place in the world to celebrate the New Year – just 15 minutes after Kiritimati Island. When the clock strikes midnight on December 31st in Chatham, it is only 5:15 AM on December 31st in the United States.

2. Approximately 45 minutes later, other areas in New Zealand, such as Auckland and Wellington, as well as cities like Nuku'alofa in Tonga, will be welcoming 2024.

3. At 7 a.m. on December 31st in the US, Fiji and some of the far eastern regions of Russia entered the new year.

4. One hour later, 2024 officially begins across most of Australia, including Sydney, Canberra, and Melbourne.

5. Half an hour later, Australians in Adelaide, Broken Hill, and Ceduna will turn their calendars to January 2024.

6. Places like Port Moresby in Papua New Guinea, along with the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam, will continue to be areas where people will be saying "Happy New Year!" earlier than usual.

7. The Northern Territory of Australia is the eighth place to celebrate the New Year first.

8. At 10 a.m. in the US, the clock begins to strike midnight in Japan and South Korea.

The regions that will welcome 2024 the latest:

The last people on Earth to celebrate the arrival of 2024 live on the islands of Niue and American Samoa.

Also nearby, Samoa (not to be confused with American Samoa) used to be one of the last countries to welcome the new year until 2011, when it decided to change its time zone to align with its trading partners Australia and New Zealand. With this change, Samoa spectacularly became one of the first countries to bid farewell to the old year.

Compiled by Nguyen Tan

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