The arrival of the Christmas It is one of the most anticipated and celebrated moments worldwide. On December 25, millions of people gather to celebrate traditions and festivals, although celebrations do not begin at the same time in all countries.
In 2025, like every year, the… Christmas Island In Kiribati It will be the first place on the planet to celebrate the holiday, which marks the start of December 25th worldwide. On the contrary, a group of smaller islands under the jurisdiction of USA He will be the last one there on Christmas Day.
The country It is divided into 24 time zones known as Time zones. These bands determine each region’s official time according to its position in relation to the Greenwich Meridian. The time zone system is based on the time it takes for the planet to rotate around its axis: each time zone represents one hour difference from Greenwich.
The hour of sunshine It is calculated based on the apparent movement of the Sun and its highest point in the sky, solar noon. However, each country’s official time may differ from this natural reference as it responds to administrative decisions and national conventions.
This difference between solar time and official time can have effects on daily life, such as: B. starting activities in complete darkness, changes in circadian rhythms and higher power consumption.
In countries where the official time does not coincide with solar time, as is currently the case Argentina (which uses the UTC -3 time zone, although UTC -4 corresponds to it), inconveniences such as the so-called “social jet lag” arise.
Every year on December 25th, the first places where the threshold of Christmas is crossed are located Peaceful Central and the eastern end of the planet. Accordingly Time and dateThe ranking of the first ten countries or territories to receive the holiday is as follows:
- Kiribati (Christmas Island/Kiritimati) -UTC+14
- New Zealand (Chatham Islands-UTC+14
- Samoa -UTC+13
- Tonga -UTC+13
- New Zealand (mainland) -UTC+13
- Tokelau (New Zealand) -UTC+13)
- Kiribati (Phoenix Islands) –UTC+13)
- Fiji –UTC+12
- Marshall Islands –UTC+12
- Tuvalu –UTC+12
In contrast, the last countries and territories where Christmas is celebrated correspond to those in the westernmost time zones on earthnear the International Date Line, in the Pacific. These are:
- Baker Island (United States) –UTC-12
- Howland Island (United States) –UTC-12
- American Samoa –UTC-11
- Niue (self-governing in free association with New Zealand) –UTC-11
- Midway Islands (United States) –UTC-11
- Jarvis Islands (USA, uninhabited) –UTC-11
- Kingman Reef (USA) –UTC-11
- Palmyra Atoll (USA) –UTC-11
- Hawaii / Honolulu (USA) –UTC-10
- Cook Islands (self-governing in free association with New Zealand) –UTC-10
These places are among the furthest west of the planet 22 hours behind the first one to celebratewhich marks a clear contrast in the global celebration. At the same time, it shows the importance of time zones in social and cultural organization.
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