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One country’s decision 30 years ago meant some islands went from being among the last in the world to celebrate the new year to being among the first.
WASHINGTON — People all across the globe will celebrate the end of 2025 and usher in the start of 2026 on New Year’s Eve. But because of a quirk with the international date line, it technically takes 25 hours for all of the inhabited places on Earth to get through a full day.
The international date line is the official starting and ending point of each day. But, as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration notes, despite its name, the international date line has no legal international status and countries are free to choose the dates that they observe. And that’s what makes this situation so complicated.
Which country is the first to celebrate the New Year?
Kiritimati Island, one of the 33 islands that make up the Republic of Kiribati (pronounced KIH-rih-bahss), is the first inhabited land mass to usher in the New Year.
Kiritimati is located almost directly south of Hawaii, but celebrates New Year’s a full day earlier.
In 1995, the country’s president moved the date line so that it went around Kiribati. Previously, the date line cut through it- so “today” meant different things depending on where you were in the country. Back then, the president told the New York Times he “was thinking of unifying” the republic and “later I realized I had accidentally made a good decision” because it meant they would be the first to usher in the next millennium in 2000.
The move meant some of the islands in the far east of Kiribati went from being among the last in the world to see each new day to being among the first.
Kiribati ushered in 2026 when it was 5 a.m. Eastern on Dec. 31.
After Kiribati, Samoa and Tonga are among the first countries to welcome the New Year.
The New Zealand city of Auckland is considered one of the first major cities to welcome each day.
Which is the last country to celebrate the New Year?
The islands of Niue and American Samoa, which are southwest of Kiribati in the South Pacific, are the last inhabited places to celebrate the New Year, according to National Geographic.
By the time American Samoa says goodbye to 2025, a lot of the rest of the world will already be firmly in 2026.
It’ll be 6 a.m. Eastern on New Year’s Day when American Samoa joins the rest of us in 2026.
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