When we still have the last feverish preparations for the New Year, some inhabitants of the Earth have not only met it and had a good time, but by this time they even managed to relax and sleep. For there are places in the world where the New Year is celebrated much earlier than ours. In our photo gallery we present those places where the New Year is celebrated first on our planet.
13 PHOTOS
1. Traditionally, the first to meet the New Year 2015 in Kiribati. And more specifically, on the Linear Islands, which are located to the east than the other islands of this country. In 1994, one of the presidential candidates promised the citizens that if he won the elections, he would make sure that Kiribati would be the first to celebrate the New Year in the whole world. He won and kept his word: he moved the demarcation line of time (a conditional line on a map of time zones). Since that time, Kiribati has been divided into three time zones, and in the easternmost of them, midnight comes 14 hours earlier than in London. (Photo: DS355/flickr.com). 
2. In the same time zone as Kiribati, Tokelau is located, which includes a group of islands consisting of three coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunono and Fakaofo. It is a dependent territory of New Zealand. The time zone change here happened quite recently, in 2011, and the main reason for this was the problem of interaction in contacts with New Zealand, since the island used to be on the other side of the demarcation time line. (Photo: Haanee Naeem/flickr.com). 
3. An hour later, the New Year will be celebrated by the inhabitants of Samoa. In 2011, there was also a change of time zone, the date of December 30, 2011 was absent in the Samoan calendar. This was done to better interact and develop cooperation with Australia and New Zealand. Interestingly, the previous time zone change was carried out in 1892 in order to adjust the time to California. (Photo: Savai'i Island/flickr.com). 
4. At the same time as in Samoa, the people of Tonga, an island located one third of the way between New Zealand and Hawaii, south of Samoa, will celebrate the New Year. (Photo: pintxomoruno/flickr.com). 
5. The next to celebrate the New Year are the inhabitants of the Chatam Islands. This small archipelago, which consists of two inhabited islands - Chatham and Pitt. Other small islands have the status of reservations and are generally inaccessible to both residents of the islands and tourists. Interestingly, Chatham Island has its own time zone, which is 45 minutes (less) different from New Zealand time. (Photo: Phil Pledger/flickr.com). 
6. After the inhabitants of the Chatam Islands, the next New Year 2015 will be celebrated in New Zealand. (Photo: Philipp Klinger Photography/flickr.com). 
7. At the same time as in New Zealand, they will celebrate the New Year in Fiji. This is a state that is located on 322 islands and islets of volcanic origin, surrounded by coral reefs, of which only 110 islands are inhabited. (Photo: brad/flickr.com). 
8. The first mainland state whose inhabitants will celebrate the New Year 2015 (simultaneously with the inhabitants of New Zealand and Fiji) is Russia, or rather, the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, located in the southeastern part of the volcanic Kamchatka Peninsula. (Photo: Jasja/flickr.com). 
9. In the same time zone as Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, there are numerous small islands and archipelagos in the Pacific Ocean: Tuvalu, Nauru, Wallis and Futuna, Wake and the Marshall Islands. Photo: Nauru island. (Photo: Hadi Zaher/flickr.com). 
10. We travel further and move to the west. The next New Year will be celebrated by the inhabitants of New Caledonia, a French overseas territory located in the Western Pacific Ocean, in Melanesia, about 1,400 kilometers east of Australia and 1,500 kilometers northwest of New Zealand. (Photo: Tonton des Iles-Bye bye Everyone/flickr.com).
Countries that celebrate the New Year at the same time as New Caledonia are: Vanuatu, the Federated States of Micronesia and the Solomon Islands.
11. Together with New Caledonia, the New Year 2015 will be met by residents of another Russian city - Magadan. (Photo: Tramp/flickr.com). 
12. On our journey, we finally arrived in Australia, where the first to celebrate the New Year, of course, are the inhabitants of the east coast - Sydney and Melbourne. (Photo: El Mundo, Economía y Negocios/flickr.com). 
13. Simultaneously with the residents of Sydney and Melbourne, the New Year will be celebrated in Vladivostok and on such Pacific islands as Guam, the Mariana Islands and Papua New Guinea. Pictured: Guam Island. Last updated: 12/29/2015
Russians will celebrate the New Year 11 times this year. AiF.ru has created a special infographic hint that will help Muscovites not to get confused and at the right time to congratulate their relatives living in other regions of the country on the holiday.
In what order will the people of Russia celebrate the New Year?
In Russia, the people of Kamchatka and the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug will be the first to celebrate the New Year. The holiday for them will come 9 hours earlier than for Muscovites.
Following Kamchatka and Chukotka, the president will congratulate the inhabitants of the eastern regions of the Yakutsk region and the Severo-Kuril region of the Sakhalin region on the New Year. There, the last strike of the chimes will sound 8 hours earlier than in the capital.
The third champagne will be opened by residents of the central part of Yakutia, as well as Primorsky Territory, Khabarovsk Territory, Magadan Region, the Jewish Autonomous Region and the western part of the Sakhalin Region. They will meet the holiday 7 hours earlier than Moscow.
Then, walking around the country, the New Year will come to visit the inhabitants of the western regions of Yakutia and the Amur Region. For them, the holiday will come 6 hours earlier than the Russian capital.
Fifth in the new year will be residents of Buryatia, the Trans-Baikal Territory and the Irkutsk Region. They will make their most cherished wish under the chiming clock five hours earlier than Muscovites.
The sixth to celebrate the holiday will be residents of Tuva, Khakassia, the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Kemerovo Region. They will uncork the champagne four hours earlier than they do in Moscow.
Novosibirsk, Omsk and Tomsk regions, as well as the Republic of Altai and the Altai Territory will join the New Year celebrations seventh. They will be able to see fireworks three hours earlier than Muscovites.
Bashkortostan, Perm Territory, Yugra, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, as well as Kurgan, Orenburg, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen and Chelyabinsk regions will celebrate the holiday eighth in the Russian Federation. Glasses in anticipation of the last blow of the chimes will be raised there two hours earlier than Moscow.
The ninth to launch fireworks and blow up firecrackers will be residents of the Udmurt and Samara regions. They will enter the new year an hour earlier than Muscovites.
Tenth glasses of champagne will be raised by Muscovites and residents of the European part of Russia and the Crimean peninsula.
Residents of the Kaliningrad region will be the last to celebrate the holiday in the Russian Federation - the president wishes them happiness in the new year an hour later than Muscovites.
Every time, on New Year's Eve, all of us, sitting at the festive table, or standing on the street near the beautifully decorated city Christmas tree, look forward to the chiming clock and the New Year. Already in the hands of glasses of champagne - the long-awaited moment is about to come. In these seconds, someone makes wishes, and someone exchanges funny jokes with neighbors, and now it has come - the New Year!
The whole vast country is celebrating his arrival. Have you ever thought about who is still the first to celebrate the New Year 2020, to whom the first Santa Claus or Santa Claus will send his reindeer team in the first place? And who had already met him long before us? It is quite interesting who will celebrate the New Year a few hours after you, and who in general will be the last to meet it on this planet. Let's look at this interesting moment of the holiday from the height of the flight of satellites and Santa Clauses.
Residents of which countries are the first to celebrate the New Year 2020?
As it turned out, the inhabitants of Line Island, located in the state of Kiribati, are the first to begin to congratulate each other on the New Year. This country is part of the Christmas Islands. Kiribati is in the earliest time zone UTC + 14, it is worth noting that the island completely coincides with Hawaii in hours, but the difference is a whole day. Thus, it turns out that when it is midnight on December 30 in Hawaii, it is already midnight on December 31 on Line Island. Also, among the first to celebrate the New Year are the inhabitants of the city of Nuku'alofa, which is also located in Oceania. Next in line will be New Zealand, which is in the UTC+13:45 time zone, followed by Phoenix, Tonga and Fiji, which are 13 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
When is the New Year celebrated in the Russian Federation?
Surely, everyone knows that Russia is located in more than one time zone, but did you know that their number is nine? Thus, it turns out that the Russians have a great opportunity to celebrate the New Year nine times. Residents of Magadan, Kamchatka and Petropavlovka are the first to fill their glasses and light sparklers. They have a New Year on December 31 at 16.00 Moscow time, while Muscovites are just starting to put dishes on the festive table. Further, at 17.00 Moscow time, everyone living in Khabarovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Vladivostok and Ussuriysk begins the celebration of the New Year.
And so every hour the inhabitants of one or another territory of Russia fill their glasses and say festive toasts. We will not write in detail about each city, since Mother Russia is a rather large country and listing all its cities will take a very long time. We only note that Moscow and St. Petersburg celebrate this magnificent holiday at 00.00 on the first of January, and an hour later the clink of glasses will be heard in the homes of the inhabitants of Kaliningrad - this particular city is the last in Russia where the New Year is coming.
When is the New Year according to the Chinese calendar?
The Chinese celebrate this holiday differently than we do - December 31st. They adhere to the lunar calendar, according to which the New Year will not come on January 1, but on February 19, since this will be the first new moon after the winter solstice. Thus, all those who believe in the Eastern (Chinese) calendar will meet the New Year one and a half months later, compared to those who are used to celebrating this holiday strictly on December 31st.
How to celebrate Chinese New Year?
It's no secret that China is a country that has a rich culture and many different traditions. They are preparing especially diligently and diligently for the coming of the New Year. First of all, the Chinese thoroughly clean their house, since dirt and dust are the highest degree of disrespect for the owner of the home for the coming year.
The Chinese try to pay off any debts before the New Year in order to start life from scratch and not owe anyone. Important for the people of China is what they will wear on New Year's Eve. It is preferable to wear new clothes and bright accessories that will symbolize this amazing holiday.
The Chinese consider a rich festive table to be the key to success, prosperity and wealth in the coming year. As a rule, it contains traditional oriental dishes, such as: rice, seafood and noodles. Dishes made from these ingredients will help appease the White Metal Rat, the patron saint of 2020.
Of course, these are far from all the traditions of Chinese culture, but they can be called fundamental.
Finally
It doesn’t matter which calendar you prefer to meet 2020 and what traditions you follow, the main thing is a good mood and faith in the best. Try to ensure that there is no place for conflicts, quarrels and talk about troubles and troubles at the festive table. Greet your guests with a smile, willingly thank everyone who will present you with New Year's gifts, and completely plunge into the festive atmosphere, forgetting about any problems and worries. And it doesn’t matter at all who is the first to celebrate the New Year 2020, the main thing is that everyone celebrates it well.
Russians will celebrate the New Year 11 times this year. AiF.ru has created a special infographic hint that will help Muscovites not to get confused and at the right time to congratulate their relatives living in other regions of the country on the holiday.
In what order will the people of Russia celebrate the New Year?
In Russia, the people of Kamchatka and the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug will be the first to celebrate the New Year. The holiday for them will come 9 hours earlier than for Muscovites.
Following Kamchatka and Chukotka, the president will congratulate the inhabitants of the eastern regions of the Yakutsk region and the Severo-Kuril region of the Sakhalin region on the New Year. There, the last strike of the chimes will sound 8 hours earlier than in the capital.
The third champagne will be opened by residents of the central part of Yakutia, as well as Primorsky Territory, Khabarovsk Territory, Magadan Region, the Jewish Autonomous Region and the western part of the Sakhalin Region. They will meet the holiday 7 hours earlier than Moscow.
Then, walking around the country, the New Year will come to visit the inhabitants of the western regions of Yakutia and the Amur Region. For them, the holiday will come 6 hours earlier than the Russian capital.
Fifth in the new year will be residents of Buryatia, the Trans-Baikal Territory and the Irkutsk Region. They will make their most cherished wish under the chiming clock five hours earlier than Muscovites.
The sixth to celebrate the holiday will be residents of Tuva, Khakassia, the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Kemerovo Region. They will uncork the champagne four hours earlier than they do in Moscow.
Novosibirsk, Omsk and Tomsk regions, as well as the Republic of Altai and the Altai Territory will join the New Year celebrations seventh. They will be able to see fireworks three hours earlier than Muscovites.
Bashkortostan, Perm Territory, Yugra, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, as well as Kurgan, Orenburg, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen and Chelyabinsk regions will celebrate the holiday eighth in the Russian Federation. Glasses in anticipation of the last blow of the chimes will be raised there two hours earlier than Moscow.
The ninth to launch fireworks and blow up firecrackers will be residents of the Udmurt and Samara regions. They will enter the new year an hour earlier than Muscovites.
Tenth glasses of champagne will be raised by Muscovites and residents of the European part of Russia and the Crimean peninsula.
Residents of the Kaliningrad region will be the last to celebrate the holiday in the Russian Federation - the president wishes them happiness in the new year an hour later than Muscovites.