While much of the world eagerly awaits 2025, the island nation of Kiribati has already embraced the New Year, which will usher in January 1, 2025 for the first time. Kiritimati Island, also known as Christmas Island, located in the central Pacific Ocean, was celebrated. New Year's Eve as the clock struck midnight earlier today.
The island operates 14 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and 8.5 hours ahead of India. This means that by 3:30 PM on December 31, 2024, Kiritimati in India was already welcoming the dawn of January 1, 2025. Celebrations on this tiny Pacific island mark the official start of global New Year celebrations.
Kiritimati locals ushered in the New Year with fireworks, music and exciting festivities. A joyful atmosphere filled the island as locals embraced the new beginning of 2025, setting the tone for a wave of celebrations across the rest of the world.
For India, the time difference is striking. While celebrating the arrival of Kiribati 2025, Indian towns and cities were still gearing up for their grand New Year celebrations that were set to unfold in the evening.
After Kiribati's initial celebrations, New Zealand's Chatham Islands welcomed the New Year 15 minutes later at 5:15 am ET. They were soon followed by mainland New Zealand and several Pacific islands including Tokelau and Tonga. As the time zones progressed, the New Year gradually moved around the world, and each region brought its own unique traditions and celebrations to the occasion.
Kiribati's original celebration of 2025 highlights the beauty of time zones, a seamless flow of joy as the New Year is marked at different times around the world. Each region adds its own cultural flavor to this global event.
Hawaii, American Samoa and some U.S. Areas will be among the last to accept 2025, with their clocks closing at midnight on January 1. Playing 38 different local times, New Year's takes a total of 26 hours. Celebrated across all time zones, making it a truly global phenomenon.
Here is the order in which countries will enter 2025:
at 1 p.m. 3.30 IST: Kiribati
4.30 IST New Zealand
at 1 p.m. 5.30 IST: Fiji, Russia minors
at 1 p.m. 6.30 IST: Australia mush
at 1 p.m. 8.30 IST: Japan, South Korea
at 1 p.m. 9.30 IST: China, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Philippines
India, Sri Lanka (5 hours 30 minutes ahead of GMT)
1.30 am IST: UAE, Oman, Azerbaijan
3.30 am IST: Greece, South Africa, Cyprus, Egypt, Namibia
4.30 am IST: Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Netherlands, Morocco, Congo, Malta
5.30 IST: UK, Ireland, Portugal
8.30 IST: Brazil, Argentina, Chile
9.30 IST: Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Venezuela, US Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands
A.M. 10.30 IST: US East Coast (New York, Washington DC, etc.) Peru, Cuba, Bahamas
11.30 am IST: Mexico, parts of Canada and United States
at 1 p.m. 1.30 IST: US West Coast (Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc.)
at 1 p.m. 3.30 IST: Hawaii, French Polynesia
at 1 p.m. 4.30 IST: Samoa
In this way, starting from Kiribati and gradually starting from every corner of the world, the New Year starts traveling around the world. It unites people in a shared celebration, merging time zones and cultures in a collective expression of joy and hope for the year ahead.