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December 31, 2024 | 03:42 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The existence of global time zones means different countries are likely to celebrate the New Year of 2025 at different times, depending on where in the world’s 24 time zones they are located. Some countries celebrate earlier, while others lag behind for a few hours. So, which countries are the first and last to celebrate New Year's Eve?
As reported by Antara, according to a report published by The Standard on Friday, December 27, the first country to celebrate the new year is Kiribati, an island country in the central Pacific Ocean.
Kiribati, despite having a very small area of around 811 square kilometers, is the only country located in the earliest time zone in the world. This country is 14 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), which means that residents of Kiribati will already be popping the New Year’s champagne corks at around 7:00 p.m. Jakarta time.
Kiribati, officially known as the Republic of Kiribati, is a former British colony located far east of Australia and about 4,000 kilometers southwest of Hawaii.
The name "Kiribati" is a respelling of the word "Christmas" in the Kiribati language, so some often refer to it as Christmas Island. The country consists of one main island and roughly 32 atolls that enclose a lagoon.
The vast distances between parts of Kiribati mean some of the islands in the east and west of the country had a 23-hour time difference. In 1995, the country voted to move the International Date Line, making it the same day throughout the whole country.
Kiribati was the first nation to see the Third Millennium, and one of its islands, Caroline, was subsequently renamed Millennium Island to celebrate the occasion in the year 2000.
On the other hand, the last countries to kick off the 2025 New Year are Baker Island and Howland Island, located east of Kiribati. Both islands are uninhabited, so no New Year's celebrations are held there.
American Samoa follows right behind, as well as Hawaii, Alaska, and the outlying islands of the U.S., which are among the territories that will be the last to participate in the New Year’s festivities.
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