THE New Year’s Eve is about to be celebrated in our geography and in the last few hours more than one has finally got their hands on the famous Christmas grapes that we will drink again during the chimes. And, at the same time, we will hear this in Australia They have been celebrating the arrival of 2026 for hours because the bells ring a few hours before. But really, will Australia be the first nation to shout the legendary “Happy New Year!” » ? And who will be the last to do it when we are already in the middle of a party or even asleep? In short, which countries celebrate the new year first and which others take the longest to do so, due to the time zones currents that govern world time?
The arrival of the New Year is therefore not a simultaneous event on a global level, but rather a staggered process that responds to the rotation of the Earth and the organization of the planet in the different time zones mentioned. This temporal progression has as its main axis the International Date Linean imaginary border located in the Pacific Ocean that marks the beginning and end of each day on the global calendar. Because of this division, the entire cycle for everyone to celebrate the New Year takes approximately 26 hours.
The first places in the world to welcome the new year are in Oceania, more precisely in Republic of Kiribati. Kiritimati Island, also known as Christmas Island, is located in the most advanced time zone on the planet, UTC+14. Samoa shares this privilege after adjusting its schedule to economically align with the region, celebrating midnight while the prime meridian (UTC) is just 10:00 a.m. away. For the residents of Peninsular Spainthis means that while we are still preparing lunch for December 31st, at 11 a.m. on these islands, the January 1st toast has already started.
Shortly after the Pacific pioneers, the celebration continued its progress through other island territories. THE Chatham Islandsowned by New Zealand, celebrates the start of the year just 15 minutes apart from Kiribati. As the clock approaches 11:00 UTC, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga join the festivities, cementing Oceania as the first major region to launch the calendar. The New Year’s Route later reaches the major landmasses, beginning at the eastern end of the Russia at 12:00 UTC, with countries like Tuvalu and Nauru. A few hours later, at 3:00 p.m. UTC, the spotlight turns to Asia with the arrival of midnight Japan, North Korea and South Korea. At this time of day, the time difference with Spain is reduced, but there is still a considerable distance between Asian and European celebrations.
Celebrations, kisses and hugs continue to cross the Asian continent and Southeast Asia. At 16:00 UTC, countries with large populations such as China and the Philippines They celebrate their entry into the new year. Later, nations like Vietnam and Thailandfollowed by a particular case: India and Sri Lankawhich mark their entry into the year at 6:30 p.m. UTC due to their fractional half-hour time zone. As evening falls on December 31 in Europe, the New Year crosses Central Asia and the Middle East. Around 20:00 UTC, nations like the United Arab Emirates and Georgia their fireworks begin. Two hours later, at 22:00 UTC, the celebration reached Eastern Europe and the first countries of North Africa, such as Egypt and South Africapreparing the ground for the return to school in the rest of the European continent.
For Spain, as well as most Western European countries France, Germany and Italythe change arrives at 23:00 UTC. At this precise moment, when we Spaniards listen to the traditional midnight chimes, the new year has already traveled the planet for thirteen hours since its beginning in Kiribati. It is a moment shared by a large part of the European Union before the cycle crosses the Greenwich meridian. One hour after the Spanish chimes, at 00:00 UTC, the new year arrives United Kingdom, Portugal, Iceland and to our western Canary Islands, as well as much of West Africa which includes countries such as Senegal and Ghana. This point marks the moment when UTC time and local time coincide exactly on the zero meridianbeginning the celebration’s final leap across the Atlantic Ocean to the American continent.
Go to America
The American continent receives the year gradually, starting in the East. Brazil and Uruguay are among the first to celebrate at 02:00 UTC, followed an hour later by Argentina, Chile and Paraguay. When midnight strikes in these southern cone countries, in Spain it is already three or four in the morning on January 1st. As the early hours and celebration progress in Europe, the new year arrives in North and Central America. United States and Canada begin their celebrations on the east coast at 05:00 UTC, while Mexico and most of Central America does so at 06:00 UTC. It should be noted that Mexico, due to its size, has several time zones, so the year does not reach its entire national territory simultaneously.
The last inhabited places on Earth to say goodbye to the previous year are small territories in the central Pacific, located just across the line from where it all began. American Samoa and Niue They celebrate the arrival of the new year almost 24 hours after their neighbors in Kiribati, despite being geographically close. By the time it’s midnight on these islands, in much of the world it’s well into January 1st. Finally, the global cycle officially ends in an uninhabited region Howland and Baker Islandsterritories belonging to the United States. These geographic points, located in the UTC-12 time zone, are the last corners of the planet to change the date to 12:00 UTC the next day. In Spain, at this time, it is already one o’clock in the New Year, thus closing a journey which, like a wave advancing from east to west, has bathed the whole world in the light of the New Year for more than a whole day.
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