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. In July 2014, Russia adopted a law on the transition to winter time. Prior to that, daylight saving time was constantly in effect for 3 years, which was ahead of astronomical time by 2 hours. Both during this period and now, the seasonal translation of clock hands in Russia is not carried out.
Some regions of Russia submit to the State Duma of the Russian Federation draft laws on amendments to Article 5 of the Federal Law "On the Calculation of Time". Thus, during 2015-2016, such bills were introduced by the following regions: Zabaikalsky Krai, Astrakhan Region, Sakhalin Region, Ulyanovsk Region, Altai Republic, Altai Territory, Magadan Region, Tomsk Region, Saratov Region, Novosibirsk Region.
By the end of the year for all ten regions such bills were considered in the State Duma, approved in the Federation Council and signed by the President of the Russian Federation.
How have time zones changed in Russia in 2016?
True, the translation of the clock hands in these regions took place on different dates. Together with other countries implementing daylight saving time, March 27, 2016 at two o'clock in the morning, the following regions moved the clock hands one hour ahead.
The Ulyanovsk and Astrakhan regions moved from the II time zone to the III, the Altai Territory and the Altai Republic moved to the VI time zone, the Trans-Baikal Territory - from VII to VIII, and Sakhalin - to the X time zone.
| Region | time zone until 03/27/16 | Moving to the time zone |
| Astrakhan region | ||
| Ulyanovsk region | II time zone — UTC+3, MSK+0, Moscow time | III time zone — UTC+4, MSK+1, Samara time |
| Altai region | ||
| Altai Republic | V time zone — UTC+6, MSK+3, Omsk time | VI time zone — UTC+7, MSK+4, Krasnoyarsk time |
| Zabaykalsky Krai | VII time zone — UTC+8, MSK+5, Irkutsk time | VIII time zone - UTC + 9, MSK + 6, Yakut time |
| Sakhalin region | IX time zone — UTC+10, MSK+7, Vladivostok time | X time zone - UTC + 11, MSK + 8, Middle Kolyma time |
BUT December 04, 2016, after long discussions, moved to another time zone and the Saratov region.
Map of time zones in Russia in 2016
The Federal Law "On the Calculation of Time" in Russia establishes eleven time zones. After the changes in 2016 that came into force, the composition of the regions in these zones will be as follows.
I time zone, MSK-1
Kaliningrad region.
II time zone, MSK
Adygea, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, Kalmykia, Karachay-Cherkess Republic, Karelia, Komi, Mari El, Mordovia, North Ossetia-Alania, Tatarstan, Chechnya, Chuvashia, Krasnodar Territory, Stavropol Territory, Crimea, Arkhangelsk, Belgorod, Bryansk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh, Ivanovo, Kaluga, Kirov, Kostroma, Kursk, Leningrad, Lipetsk, Moscow, Murmansk, Nizhny Novgorod, Novgorod, Oryol, Penza, Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tambov, Tver, Tula, Yaroslavl region, Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
III time zone, MSK+1
Udmurt Republic, as well as Samara, Astrakhan, Ulyanovsk and Saratov regions.
IV time zone, MSK+2
Republic of Bashkortostan, Perm Territory, Kurgan, Orenburg, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen, Chelyabinsk regions, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug - Yugra and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
V time zone, MSK+3
Omsk region.
VI time zone, MSK+4
Tyva, Khakassia, Krasnoyarsk Territory, Republic of Altai, Altai Territory, Kemerovo, Tomsk and Novosibirsk Regions.
VII time zone, MSK+5
Republic of Buryatia and Irkutsk region.
VIII time zone, MSK+6
Most of the regions of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), including the city of Yakutsk, as well as the Amur Region and the Trans-Baikal Territory.
IX time zone, MSK+7
Verkhoyansky, Oymyakonsky and Ust-Yansky uluses of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Primorsky Territory, Khabarovsk Territory, and the Jewish Autonomous Region.
X time zone, MSK+8
Several districts of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Sakhalin and Magadan regions.
XI time zone, MSK+9
Kamchatka Territory and Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.
Every time, on New Year's Eve, all of us, sitting at the festive table, or standing on the street near a 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 2019, 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 2019?
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 is the last city 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 celebrate 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 prepared from these ingredients will help to appease the yellow earthen pig - the patron saint of 2019.
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 celebrate 2019 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 2019, the main thing is that everyone celebrates it well.
0 - First Celebrate New Year inhabitants of the island of Kiritimati, which is part of the Christmas Islands (Republic of Kiribati), as well as residents of the city of Nukualofa (the capital of the Kingdom of Tonga). Both locations are in Oceania.
+0.15 - Chatham Island (New Zealand), remote from the main islands of New Zealand, is located in a special time zone and is the second place where the New Year comes.
+1.00 - Then New Zealand (Wellington, Auckland, etc.) and polar explorers from the South Pole in Antarctica celebrate the New Year
+2.00 - The next to celebrate the New Year are residents of extreme eastern Russia (Anadyr, Kamchatka), the Fiji Islands and some other Pacific islands (Nauru, Tuvalu, etc.)
+2.30 — Norfolk Island (Australia)
+3.00 - Part of eastern Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra) and some Pacific islands (Vanuatu, Micronesia, Solomon Islands, etc.)
Australia. Sydney is having a big party. On New Year's Eve, the whole city looks like an incomparably decorated Christmas tree, the branches of which bend under the weight of all the decorations. The sky over Sydney sparkles with numerous salutes and fireworks, which are visible from a distance of 16-20 kilometers from the city. After a festive night, Australians often go somewhere in nature. +3.30 - South Australia (Adelaide)
+4.00 - Queensland in Australia (Brisbane), part of Russia (Vladivostok) and some islands (Papua New Guinea, Mariana Islands)
+4.30 - Northern Territories of Australia (Darwin)
+5.00 — Japan and Korea
Japanese New Year celebrated on January 1st. Mandatory is the custom of seeing off the Old Year, which includes organizing receptions and visiting restaurants. At the beginning of the new year, the Japanese begin to laugh. They believe that laughter will bring them good luck in the coming year. On the first New Year's Eve, it is customary to visit the temple. In temples, 108 bells are beaten. With each blow, according to the Japanese, all the bad things go away, which should not be repeated in the New Year. Among the New Year's accessories, amulets for happiness - a rake - are very popular. Every Japanese considers it necessary to purchase them so that on New Year's Eve there is something to rake in happiness. Bamboo rakes - kumade - are made in sizes from 10 cm to 1.5 m and are decorated with rich paintings. In houses, rice cakes are placed in a conspicuous place, on top of which tangerines are placed, symbolizing happiness, health and longevity.
+6.00 - China, part of Southeast Asia and the rest of Australia
Celebrated between January 17 and February 19, during the new moon. Street processions are the most exciting part of the holiday. Thousands of lanterns are lit during the processions to light the way for the New Year. The Chinese believe that the new year is surrounded by evil spirits. Therefore, they scare them away with firecrackers and firecrackers. Sometimes the Chinese seal windows and doors with paper to keep out evil spirits. New Year in China is a strictly family holiday, and every Chinese wants to spend it with their relatives. On the evening of the last day of the year, each family in full force gathers in the living room for a gala dinner. During this dinner, which was held under the sign of the unity of the clan, and above all the unity of its living and deceased members, its participants eat dishes that are first offered to the spirits of their ancestors. At the same time, family members get the opportunity to forgive each other old grievances. After the end of the meal, no one went to bed, so as not to miss their future happiness. Night vigils for the New Year were called “to protect the year”.
+7.00 — Indonesia and the rest of Southeast Asia
+7.30 - Myanmar +8.00 - Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Part of Russia (Novosibirsk, Omsk)
+8.15 – Nepal
+8.30 – India
New in India The year is celebrated in different ways. In one part, the holiday is considered open when a kite is struck by a burning arrow. In northern India, the inhabitants adorn themselves with flowers in shades of pink, red, purple, or white. South Indian mothers place sweets, flowers and small gifts on a special tray, and on New Year's Day the children are led to the tray with their eyes closed.
+9.00 - Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and part of Russia (Yekaterinburg, Ufa).
+9.30 – Afghanistan
+10.00 - Armenia, Azerbaijan, part of Russia (Samara), some islands in the Indian Ocean.
+10.30 – Iran
+11.00 — Part of East Asia, part of Africa, part of Russia (Moscow, St. Petersburg)
+12.00 - Eastern Europe (Romania, Greece, Ukraine, etc.), Turkey, Israel, Finland, part of Africa. Finland. Finnish families gather at a New Year's table full of various dishes. The kids are waiting for a large basket of gifts from Joulupukki, that's the name of the Finnish Santa Claus. On New Year's Eve, Finns tell fortunes to find out their future. In Greece, New Year's Day is Saint Basil's Day. Saint Basil was known for his kindness, and Greek children leave their shoes by the fireplace in the hope that Saint Basil will fill the shoes with gifts.
+13.00 - Western and Central Europe (Belgium, Italy, France, Hungary, Sweden, etc.), part of Africa.
As soon as it started new year italians in a hurry to get rid of things that have already "served their own". In Italy, the custom has been preserved to bring clean water from a spring on the first morning of the new year, as it is believed that water brings happiness.
New Year in France. Even before Christmas, the French hang a branch of mistletoe over the door of their houses, believing that it will bring good luck next year. In addition, the French decorate the whole house with flowers, be sure to put them on the table. In each house they try to place a model depicting the scene of the birth of Christ. According to tradition, a good owner-winemaker on New Year's Eve should clink glasses with a barrel of wine, congratulate her on the holiday and drink for the future harvest.
+14.00 - Prime meridian (Greenwich), UK, Portugal, part of Africa.
New Year in the United Kingdom. The ringing of the bell announces the New Year in England. The British have a tradition to let the old year out of the house, they open the back doors of the houses before the ringing of the bell, and then open the front doors to let in the new year. New Year's gifts in the family circle of the British are distributed according to the old tradition - by lot.
+15.00 — Azores
+16.00 – Brazil
Brazilian New Year. On New Year's Eve, the inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro go to the ocean and bring gifts to the Goddess of the Sea Yemanzha. Traditionally, Brazilians dress up in white clothes, which symbolizes a plea for peace addressed to the goddess of the Sea. Believers bring all kinds of gifts to the goddess: flowers, perfumes, mirrors, jewelry. Gifts are placed in small boats and sent to the sea as a token of gratitude for the past year and as a request for protection in the coming year.
+17.00 - Argentina and part of eastern South America
+17.30 — Newfoundland Island (Canada)
+18.00 - Eastern Canada, many Caribbean islands, part of South America
+19.00 - Eastern parts of Canada (Ottawa) and the USA (Washington, New York), the western part of South America.
New Year in the United States of America. In New York, in Times Square, the traditional solemn descent of the famous Ball, sparkling with thousands of neon lights, takes place.
+20.00 - Central parts of Canada and the USA (Chicago, Houston), Mexico and most of Latin America.
+21.00 - Part of Canada (Edmonton, Calgary) and USA (Denver, Phoenix, Salt Lake City)
+22.00 - Western parts of Canada (Vancouver, and USA (Los Angeles, San Francisco)
+23.00 - State of Alaska (USA) +23.30 - Marquesas Islands as part of French Polynesia
+24.00 - Hawaiian Islands (USA), Tahiti and the Cook Islands
+25.00 — Residents of the State of Samoa are the last to celebrate the New Year
Which countries are the first to celebrate the New Year and the new day? These are the Kingdom of Tonga, the Republic of Kiribati, as well as the New Zealand possession of Chatham Island.
Let's talk about this in more detail.
Map of time zones.
Map of time zones.
In the far left and right parts of the map, the Dateline, or (in other words) the International Date Line, is indicated.
It is crossed (at the bottom of the map, near Australia) by the Republic of Kiribati. Kiribati, due to its length, is simultaneously in three time zones in relation to Greenwich time, namely in the zones: plus 12, plus 13, plus 14, and therefore cannot be considered a country that is entirely the first to celebrate the New Year and the new day. Only that part of Kiribati, which is located in the time zones: plus 13 and plus 14, celebrates the New Year and the new day first in the world.
In turn, the Kingdom of Tonga (time zone: plus 13) is the only country in the world that is the first to celebrate the New Year and the new day all year round. Tonga does not switch to daylight saving time as New Zealand does (New Zealand winter time: plus 12 and summer time: plus 13). Thus, in winter, New Zealand cannot boast of being the first country in the world to celebrate the New Year.
However, the New Zealand possession - Chatham Island (with its winter time: plus 12 hours 45 minutes) celebrates the New Year just 15 minutes after Tonga.
Kingdom of Tonga()is the only country in the world that is entirely the first to celebrate the New Year and year-round - the new day b.
The organ of the government of Tonga, the Tonga Chronicle newspaper (published in 1964-2009), in its issue of February 20, 1997, described the privilege and right of the Kingdom of Tonga to be called the first country to celebrate the New Year and the new day:
“Until the end of the 19th century, the world did not have a system of time zones. But as the network of railroads and regular shipping lines expanded, the need to somehow harmonize their timetables became apparent. As a result, the main trading nations in 1870 began to discuss the introduction of standard and standard time in order to get rid of the chaos in this matter.
These efforts culminated in the Washington International Meridian Conference. 1884., which divided the Earth into 24 standard meridians, 15° apart in longitude, starting west of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England. Meridian, located at 180 ° (12 hours before Greenwich) became the basis for the so-called. Dateline, along which countries to the west of it entered the next day, while countries to the east remained in the previous one. (The following countries participated in the Washington International Meridian Conference, which developed a system of time zones for the whole world and drew the International Date Line: Austria-Hungary, the Brazilian Empire, Venezuela, the German Empire, Guatemala, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Spain, Italy, Colombia, Hawaii , Costa Rica, Mexico, Netherlands, Ottoman Empire, Paraguay, Russian Empire, El Salvador, Great Britain, USA, France, Chile, Sweden (in union with Norway), Switzerland and Japan Note site).
However, when determining the international Date Line, the conference participants agreed with its deviations from the 180th parallel in order to avoid dividing the day within individual subjects, such as New Zealand, Fiji, Samoa, Siberia (meaning the Far North of Russia Note ..
In the Southern Hemisphere, the International Date Line was drawn north of the South Pole... so as not to separate Chatham Island in terms of date. Raoul, Sunday, now New Zealand Note . site), the Kingdom of Tonga, which belongs to Fiji, the Lau archipelago, similarly to the North and South Islands of New Zealand ... Similar deviations in the date line were agreed in the Northern Hemisphere, so as not to divide the territories in the sense of date in Eastern Siberia ( meaning the Far North of Russia.
In theory, standard time should never be more than 12 hours ahead of or behind Greenwich Mean Time. But the permissible deviation, according to the decisions of the mentioned conference 1884 put Tonga in the zone 13 hours ahead of GMT. In turn, New Zealand and Fiji were in the zone 12 hours ahead of Greenwich time, and Western Samoa 11 hours behind Greenwich time.
But until 1941, Tonga did not adhere to its local time, which was supposed to be 13 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. Tongan time was then 50 minutes ahead of New Zealand winter time, and accordingly Tongan time was 12 hours and 20 minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
When New Zealand adjusted its standard time in the 1940s, Tonga had the choice of either changing its local time to match New Zealand's time; or move to a time ahead of Greenwich Mean Time by 13 hours (which would be 50 minutes ahead of New Zealand time).
His Majesty, the future King Taufaahau Tupou IV (Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, became king in 1965 ., and rules up to 2006. Note. site), while known as Crown Prince Tungi (Tungi), chose in this regard to change the Tongan time so that Tonga could be called the land where time begins.
The Legislative Assembly approved this choice. But some of the older, more conservative MPs from the outlying islands objected: “If we move the time forward by 40 minutes at midnight on December 31, as Your Royal Highness wishes, will we lose 40 minutes?”
To which the crown prince presented a win-win argument: “But in this case, remember that during the “weekly prayer of the year” (see. Note. website) we will be the first people on Earth to perform the morning prayer".
Since 1974, when New Zealand began to switch to daylight saving time, during the four summer months this country is also in the zone when its time is 13 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. But Tonga is still the country in the world that is the first to welcome every new day of every week, every month and every year, ”the Tongan newspaper proudly noted.
So, time in Tonga is Greenwich Mean Time (GMT, today also called Coordinated Universal Time UTC) +13 hours .
In addition, the Republic of Kiribati, neighboring Tonga and another island country, can also be considered the first country to celebrate the New Year and the new day. However, Kiribati, due to its length, is located simultaneously in three time zones in relation to Greenwich time, namely in the zones +12, +13, +14, and therefore cannot be considered a country that is entirely the first to celebrate the New Year and the new day.
A still frame from the New Year's (2000) broadcast of the American television company ABC, which shows the Dateline (or (otherwise) International Date Line), as well as the first three countries in the world that are the first to celebrate the New Year and the new day: the Kingdom of Tonga ( Time zone: GMT plus 13); as well as part of the islands of the Republic of Kiribati (namely, those related to time zones plus 13, plus 14); and besides this, the New Zealand possession is Chatham Island (Chatham, its winter time: plus 12 h.
A still frame from the New Year's (2000) program of the American television company ABC, which shows the Dateline (Dateline, or (otherwise) International Date Line), as well as the first three countries in the world that are the first to celebrate the New Year and the new day:
Kingdom of Tonga (Time zone: GMT plus 13);
as well as part of the islands of the Republic of Kiribati (namely, those related to time zones plus 13, plus 14);
and besides this, the New Zealand possession is Chatham Island (Chatham, its winter time: plus 12 hours 45 minutes).
Quite close to Tonga is the New Zealand possession of Chatham Island, where the difference with Greenwich time is +12 hours 45 minutes, i.e. 15 minutes slower than Tongan. However, in the summer, Chatham switches to summer time and then the difference with Greenwich time is already +13 hours 45 minutes, and therefore 45 minutes more than Tongan.
In turn, New Zealand has winter time (Greenwich time +12), and summer time (Greenwich time +13). Thus, as noted in the Tonga Chronicle article, in summer New Zealand can be said to be the first to meet the new day. But not the New Year, because. Summer time in New Zealand operates from April to September.
A few words about how the New Year is celebrated in Tonga.
The entire first week of the New Year is called Uike Lotu (i.e. "weekly prayer") in Tonga. On every day of this week, members of the Protestant churches, to which the largest part of the population of Tonga belongs (despite the fact that 15% are Catholics), hold meetings and prayers in the morning and evening, and in between prayers there is a solemn meal.
A New Year's treat in Tonga consists of umu (umu, used in the Hawaiian Islands) of the traditional Tongan dish "lu-pulu" (lu pulu), which is beef cooked in taro leaves along with onions and coconut milk. Also, people eat root vegetables, such as taro, and also sweet potatoes, i.e. sweet potato, called in Tonga « kumala» (kumala), and besides this - tapioca (i.e. starchy puree), prepared from the roots of the cassava plant (plants of the Euphorbiaceae family), and seafood.
Young people launch fireworks with the help of cannons in the form of a large bamboo tube lying on the ground, such a cannon is called fana pitu .
Video: A Tongan teenager prepares a fana pitu bamboo cannon for the 2010 New Year's fireworks. Here's how the cannon fires:
On January 1, people also go to the beach and swim, at this time in Tonga the hottest midsummer. On the night of January 1, the King of Tonga arranges a reception for his high-ranking guests.
Video: Tonga, Kiribati and the New Zealand possession of Chatham Island are the first to celebrate the New Year (Here is 2000, and thus, in this case, the new millennium):
The video below is a fragment of the special international TV program "Meeting of the Year 2000" (also known as "2000 Today"), which was broadcast throughout the day on December 31, 1999 around the world and was organized in cooperation with 60 TV broadcasters from different countries, including which included both public - British Broadcasting Corporation (British Broadcasting Corporation - BBC), Polish Television (Telewizja Polska - TVP), Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Australian Broadcasting Corporation - ABC), Spanish Television (Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española - RTVE) and Public broadcasting service in the USA (Public Broadcasting Service - PBS), and private - American Broadcasting Company in the USA (American Broadcasting Company - ABC), Japanese TV Asahi. Broadcast short excerpts from the program in Russia.
The program was a telethon, consisting of live broadcasts, showing how the countries of the world, one after another, met the new year 2000. Starting from the very first countries where the new day comes: the Kingdom of Tonga and the Republic of Kiribati, as well as the New Zealand possession - Chatham Islands.
So the last minutes 1999 . and meeting 2000 . in Tonga, Kiribati and Chatham Island.
It first shows how the then King of Tonga, Taufaahau Tupou IV, addresses his subjects with a welcoming speech, and the subjects pray (as part of the so-called "weekly prayer") and sing religious songs.
At the same time, dancers and singers from the neighboring Republic of Kiribati, who came to the Kiribati-owned and usually uninhabited Caroline Island Atoll, officially renamed the Millennium Island by the government of this republic in 1999, held a ceremony to welcome the new millennium and year, in the presence of the leadership of the republic and journalists. Caroline Atoll is the very first territory of Kiribati, where the New Year and the new day come. It is also the first territory in the world to have a new date, as The atoll lies next to the Dateline, or International Date Line. Until 1995, the atoll was one of the last places on earth to welcome a new day. The date line ran to the east, and thus Kiribati was a country where new and old days went simultaneously. Now all three time zones of Kiribati are in the zone of one current day, in other words, at the initiative of the government of Kiribati, the Date Line has been pushed back.
Kiribati dancers performed traditional dances during a televised ceremony mwaie as well as songs. In addition, a traditional canoe was launched into the water, driven by an old man and a boy, with a torch. The descent of the canoe symbolized the hope for a new journey - from the past to the future.
Also in the program it was shown how the year 2000 was met on the New Zealand possession - Chatham Island. There were both Europeans and representatives of the Maori - the indigenous population of the islands of New Zealand, who once inhabited Chatham.
For our video, the broadcast of the TV program “Meeting of the Year 2000” (“2000 Today”) was taken from the airs of Polish Television (Telewizja Polska - TVP, broadcast was on the second TV channel of this broadcaster) and the American Broadcasting Company (American Broadcasting Company - ABC (USA). Comments, respectively, were in Polish and English.
This material is based on an article in the former government English-language Tongan newspaper Tonga Chronicle and an article from the Internet community Hubpages (in both cases translated from English by the site), as well as other sources;