As most of the world awaits 2025, the tiny island nation of Kiribati has already taken the lead, becoming the first to welcome the New Year. Kiritimati Island, also known as Christmas Island, located in the central Pacific Ocean, marks the dawn of January 1, 2025, as clocks struck midnight there earlier today.
The island is precisely 8.5 hours ahead of India and 14 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. So when India clocked 3.30 pm today (Dec 31 2024), it was midnight, Wednesday, Jan 1, 2025, in Kiritimati. This momentous occasion in Kiribati signifies the beginning of the global New Year celebrations, as the island nation marks the very first moments of 2025, long before the rest of the world follows suit.
Locals in Kiritimati welcome the fresh dawn of the new year, creating an atmosphere of excitement and celebration that spread across the small island with residents ringing in with New Year fireworks, music, and joyful festivities.
For India, the time difference is significant. While the celebrations were underway in Kiribati, Indian cities and towns were gearing up for the grand festivities later in the day.
2025 has just arrived!
— Matthew Joyce (@ItsMatthewJoyce) December 31, 2024
The first places to ring in the new year are Kiribati and the Christmas Islands, which have just hit midnight!
Meanwhile, Sydney in Australia has kicked off its celebrations with the 9pm fireworks display, to give a taster of what’s to come! #SydNYE pic.twitter.com/yEUiC9YLQ2
After Kiribati's early festivities, the Chatham Islands of New Zealand joined the celebrations just 15 minutes later, at 5.15 am ET, followed by New Zealand itself and several other Pacific islands such as Tokelau and Tonga. As the time zones rolled on, the New Year spread across the globe, with each region bringing its unique traditions and celebrations to the occasion.
Among the most beautiful New Year welcomes in the world is the Sydney fireworks display. The highly anticipated event attracted millions of viewers worldwide. This year's display promises to be more spectacular than ever, with thousands of pyrotechnic effects. Sydney in Australia is 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of India. So it too would ring in the new year way before India does.
What a show! Our 9pm Calling Country fireworks display was produced by We Are Warriors. It honoured the spirit of Barangaroo, and the deep connection of Eora women to the waterways of Sydney Harbour. #SydneyNYE #NewYearsEve #Sydney pic.twitter.com/hm2FAmk5Xm
— City of Sydney (@cityofsydney) December 31, 2024
Kiribati's timely ushering of 2025 showcases how the world's varying time zones create a continuous stream of joy, with each place marking the arrival of the new year in its own way.
Hawaii, American Samoa, and several US territories will join the celebrations much later, with the clock finally striking midnight for them in the early hours of January 1, 2025. With 38 different local times in use, it takes 26 hours for the New Year to encompass all time zones.
Here is the order of how countries enter 2025:
3.30 pm IST: Kiribati
4.30 pm IST New Zealand
5.30 pm IST: Fiji, small regions of Russia
6.30 pm IST: Mush of Australia
8.30 pm IST: Japan, South Korea
9.30 pm IST: China, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, the 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, the Neitherlands, Morocco, Congo, Malta
5.30 am IST: UK, Ireland, Portugal
8.30 am IST: Brazil, Argentina, Chile
9.30 am IST: Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Venezuela, US Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands
10.30 am IST: US East Coast (New York, Washington DC, etec,) Peru, Cuba, Bahamas
11.30 am IST: Mexico, parts of Canada and the US
1.30 pm IST: US West Coast (Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc)
3.30 pm IST: Hawaii, French Polyneisa
4.30 pm IST: Samoa
Thus, the New Year travels around the world, starting in Kiribati and eventually reaching the farthest corners of the globe, connecting people in a joyous celebration across time zones.
