The countdown is on! Can you believe it’s almost time to say farewell to 2023 and hello to 2024? Before you know it, you’ll be counting down the seconds until the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve alongside your loved ones as tiny bits of colorful confetti fall from the sky and coat the ground beneath you. For that brief moment, time will stand still as you reflect on the previous 365 days and start dreaming about the next 365 days (or 366 days thanks to the leap year) that are now ahead of you.
It’s truly one of the most joyous and magical times of the year, so it’s no wonder people in countries all across the world love to celebrate it. It’s a day that everyone can look forward to, no matter how old you are or where you live.
However, do you know what the first place is to cross over into 2024? It takes 26 hours for the New Year to officially encompass 38 zones. The first place to ring in the New Year is Kiritimati Island, which is part of the Republic of Kiribati, I don't think we have members there.
The small region is also known as Christmas Island, which is in the world’s farthest forward time zone, making it 19 hours ahead of places like NYC.
Kiritimati Island celebrates New Year’s so early compared to the United States that almost a whole day will have passed before all of the mainland US will have made it to 2024. When Kiritimati enters New Year's Day at midnight and it officially becomes January 1, 2024, the local time in New York will just be 5:00 a.m. EST on December 31, 2023.
Happy New Year Everyone!!!