The Earth rotates 360 degrees in 24 hours, meaning every 15 degrees of longitude makes a difference of one hour.
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Digital Desk, New Delhi. Even before the New Year celebrations begin in the world, only one question arises in everyone's mind that where is the first place to welcome 2026?
The answer is, Kirimati, a small island in the Pacific Ocean, welcomes the New Year first in the world. That is, when the sound of firecrackers and happiness echoes here, the rest of the world waits for the New Year. This place is so unique that the New Year comes here hours before the rest of the world.
Kirimati is also called Christmas Island. The island is located south of Hawaii and north-east of Australia, where coral reefs stretch from east to west for approximately 4,000 kilometers. The population here is not much.
Kiribati became independent from Britain in 1979 and today about 1 lakh 16 thousand people live here. This country is made up of many islands, which are scattered in the Pacific Ocean. Interestingly, Kirimati is almost exactly south of Hawaii, yet New Years is celebrated a full day earlier here.
The reason for this is the difference in time zones. The world is divided according to time and Kirimati falls in the UTC+14 time zone, which is the largest time zone in the world. When it's midnight here, the old year is still going on elsewhere.
What is the 'mystery' of time zones?
Why is New Year celebrated at different times in different countries? The direct answer to this is the speed of Earth's rotation and the length and breadth of the lines. The Earth rotates 360 degrees in 24 hours, meaning every 15 degrees of longitude makes a difference of one hour. And there is a difference of four minutes in time for every degree of longitude, because the entire 360 degrees is divided into 1,440 minutes (24 hours).
This system is connected to the International Date Line, which passes through the Pacific Ocean. To the east of this line time is forward, while to the west it is backward. The result is that some countries ring in the New Year earlier, while others hours later. For example, when 2026 begins in Kirimati, it is still the morning of December 31 in New York.
New Year's Eve around the world
For example, after Kiribati, countries like Samoa and Tonga enter the new year, which are in UTC+13. Then comes New Zealand, where the celebrations begin in Auckland. Sydney's famous fireworks show in Australia comes after this, when it is midnight here.
In countries like Japan and South Korea in Asia, the New Year is celebrated a few hours later. When New Year comes in India, it is already afternoon in Kirimati.
Europe and America are further behind. When the clock strikes midnight in London, the next day has already begun in Kiribati. Finally, places like American Samoa or Hawaii welcome the New Year where time goes to UTC-11.
Also read: Video: Flood of faith on New Year, huge crowd of devotees gathered in temples across the country