Everyone knows that New Year occurs in different parts of the planet at different times. The reason is the difference in time zones. And where does it come first?
The very first populated area on Earth, where everyone comes first, is the island of Kiritimati in the Christmas archipelago in Oceania. It is its residents who are the very first to begin celebrating the New Year - at 0:00 am.
The next point is New Zealand's Chatham Island, the arrival time of the New Year is 0 hour 15 minutes.
At 1:00 am the New Year begins for polar explorers in Antarctica and New Zealand.
At 2-00 it’s Russia’s turn (Chukotka, Kamchatka) and.
The most famous symbols of the New Year are the Russian (who is also revered by all residents of the former Soviet Union) Father Frost and the “non-Russian” Santa Claus. It is generally accepted that these are two hypostases of one, so to speak, personality, however, Santa Claus on his website categorically refutes this statement. Father Frost states that he is much older than Santa Claus and that he has nothing to do with Saint Nicholas, from whom the latter traces his ancestry.
Everyone loves and celebrates the New Year, although for many nations it is of secondary importance. However, for the majority, this is the most family-friendly, funniest and most delicious holiday. How is it celebrated in different countries, what traditions are associated with it?
Austria
If the day before you met a man on the street who was carrying a metal ball on a string and a brush in his hands, and had a tall top hat on his head, a lot of luck awaits you. For you have met a chimney sweep, and these days there is no happier meeting.
England
Shortly before midnight, the bells come to life, but at first their ringing and whispering is barely audible: they are wrapped in blankets. However, exactly at midnight, the covers are removed and the triumphant ringing spreads over the houses in full force, heralding the onset of the New Year. The owners of the homes, who were impatiently awaiting this moment, open their back doors wide - they “let out” the Old Year from the house. And then, with the last strike of the bell, the front doors are thrown open so that the New Year can “arrive” without interference. At the same time, all lovers must find a mistletoe branch and kiss under it - then they will be together all their lives. After all, mistletoe is a magical tree for them.
Bulgaria.
In Bulgaria, the lights are turned off for three minutes, giving everyone the opportunity to kiss.
Germany
Santa Klass comes to Germany on a donkey, so children put bundles of hay in their shoes for him.
Italy
In Italy, it is customary to get rid of everything old on New Year's Eve. Therefore, do not be surprised or offended if something unexpected suddenly flies at your head from the darkness. It's good if it's not an old cast iron iron.
Scotland
Burning barrels of tar are rolled through the streets: the Old Year burns out in them, making way for the New Year. If a man with dark hair and with gifts in his hands is the first to enter the house in the new year, it is fortunate (the First Footing).
Which countries are the first to celebrate the New Year and New Day? These are the Kingdom of Tonga, the Republic of Kiribati, and the New Zealand possession of Chatham Island.
Let's talk about this in more detail.
Time zone map.
Time zone map.
On the far left and right sides of the map is the Dateline (or (otherwise) International Date Line).
It is crossed (at the bottom of the map, not far from Australia) by the Republic of Kiribati. Kiribati, due to its extent, is located 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 entirely the first to celebrate the New Year and a new day all year round. Tonga does not switch between winter and summer time, as New Zealand does (winter New Zealand 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 of Chatham Island (with its winter time: plus 12 hours 45 minutes) celebrates the New Year just 15 minutes after Tonga.
Kingdom of Tonga()- this 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 Tonga government organ, the Tonga Chronicle newspaper (published from 1964 to 2009), in its issue dated 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 New Day:
“Until the end of the 19th century, the world did not have a time zone system. But as the network of railways and regular shipping lines expanded, the need to somehow coordinate their schedules became obvious. As a result, the major trading nations began to discuss the introduction of standard time and standard time in 1870 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. The meridian, located 180° (12 hours ahead of Greenwich) became the basis for the so-called. The Dateline, in which countries to the west of it entered the next day, while countries to the east still remained on the previous day. (The following countries participated in the Washington International Meridian Conference, which developed a time zone system for the whole world and established the International Date Line: Austria-Hungary, Brazilian Empire, Venezuela, German Empire, Guatemala, Denmark, 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 website).
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 entities, 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 from the South Pole... so as not to separate Chatham Island, now New Zealand. Raoul, Sunday, now New Zealand . site), the Kingdom of Tonga, the Fiji-owned Lau Archipelago, similar to the North and South Islands of New Zealand... Similar deviations in the implementation of the International Date Line were agreed upon in the Northern Hemisphere, so as not to separate territories in terms of dates in Eastern Siberia ( This means the Far North of Russia. Note..
In theory, standard time should never be more than 12 hours ahead or behind Greenwich Time. But the permissible deviation, according to the decisions of the mentioned conference 1884 placed Tonga 13 hours ahead of Greenwich Time. In turn, New Zealand and Fiji found themselves in a zone 12 hours ahead of Greenwich Time, and Western Samoa 11 hours behind Greenwich Time.
But until 1941, Tonga did not adhere to its own local time, which was supposed to be 13 hours ahead of Greenwich 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.
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 13 hours ahead of Greenwich Time (which would be 50 minutes ahead of New Zealand time).
His Majesty, the future King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, became king in 1965 ., and ruled until 2006. Note site), then known as Crown Prince Tungi, chose in this regard to change 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 members of Parliament from the outer islands objected: "If at midnight on December 31st we move the clock forward by 40 minutes, as Your Royal Highness wishes, then we will simply 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 morning prayer".
Since 1974, when New Zealand began switching to daylight saving time, during the four summer months the country has also been in a zone where 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, the time in Tonga is equal to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT, today also called Coordinated Universal Time UTC) +13 hours.
In addition, Tonga's neighbor and another island country, the Republic of Kiribati, can also be considered the first country to celebrate the New Year and New Day. However, Kiribati, due to its extent, is located simultaneously in three time zones in relation to Greenwich Time, namely in zones +12, +13, +14, and therefore cannot be considered a country that is entirely the first to celebrate the New Year and 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 three first countries in the world that are the first to celebrate the New Year and the new day: the Kingdom of Tonga ( Time zone: Greenwich Time plus 13); as well as part of the islands of the Republic of Kiribati (namely those belonging to time zones plus 13, plus 14); and besides this, the New Zealand possession is Chatham Island (Chatham, its winter time: plus 12 hours.
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 three first countries in the world that are the first to celebrate the New Year and the new day:
Kingdom of Tonga (Time zone: Greenwich Time plus 13);
as well as part of the islands of the Republic of Kiribati (namely those belonging 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 less 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 time.
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 the summer New Zealand can be said to be the first to greet the new day. But not New Year, because... Summer time in New Zealand runs 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 (ie "weekly prayer") in Tonga. On each day of this week, members of the Protestant churches, which constitute the largest part of the Tongan population (with 15% being Catholics), meet and pray in the morning and evening, with a solemn meal taking place between prayers.
The Tongan New Year's treat consists of umu baked in a pit oven. used in the Hawaiian Islands) is a traditional Tongan dish called lu pulu, which is beef cooked in taro leaves along with onions and coconut milk. People also eat root vegetables such as taro, and also sweet potatoes, i.e. sweet potato, called in Tonga « kumala» (kumala), and in addition - tapioca (i.e. starchy puree), prepared from the roots of the cassava plant (plants of the euphorbia family), and seafood.
Youth launch fireworks using 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 bamboo fana pitu for the 2010 New Year's fireworks display. Below you can see how this gun fires:
On January 1, people also go to the beach and swim, which is the hottest time of summer in Tonga. The King of Tonga hosts a reception for his high-ranking guests on the night of January 1st.
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 a special international television program “Meeting of 2000” (also known as “2000 Today”), which was broadcast throughout the day on December 31, 1999 around the world and was organized in cooperation by 60 television broadcasters from different countries, including which included as public - British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Polish Television (Telewizja Polska - TVP), 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. Short excerpts from the program were also broadcast in Russia.
The program was a telethon consisting of live broadcasts showing how countries around the world, one after another, celebrated the New Year 2000. Starting with 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 Island.
So, the last minutes 1999 . and meeting 2000 g . to Tonga, Kiribati and Chatham Island.
It first shows the then King of Tonga, Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, addressing his subjects with a speech of welcome, while 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 Kiribati's and usually uninhabited Caroline Island, officially renamed Millennium Island by the government of this republic in 1999, held a ceremony to welcome the new millennium and year, in presence of the republic's leadership and journalists. Caroline Atoll is the very first territory of Kiribati to celebrate the New Year and New Day. It is also the first territory in the world to receive a new date, because... 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, because... The international date line ran to the east, and thus Kiribati was a country where the new and old days ran 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 International Date Line was pushed back.
During the broadcast ceremony, Kiribati dancers performed traditional dances 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 launch of the canoe symbolized hope for a new journey - from the past to the future.
The program also showed how the year 2000 was celebrated on the New Zealand property - Chatham Island. There were present both Europeans and representatives of the Maori - the indigenous population of the New Zealand islands, who once inhabited Chatham.
For our video, the broadcast of the television program “Meeting of 2000” (“2000 Today”) was taken from the broadcasts of Polish television (Telewizja Polska - TVP, broadcast on the second TV channel of this broadcaster) and the American Broadcasting Company (ABC (USA). The comments, respectively, were in Polish and English.
This material was prepared based on an article from the former government English-language Tongan newspaper Tonga Chronicle and a note from the Internet community Hubpages (In both cases, the site translated from English), as well as other sources;
messe_de_minuit — 12/31/2010 Residents of the Fiji Islands are the first to celebrate the New Year. The islands are located at 180 degrees east latitude, where the international conventional date boundary passes. The last to celebrate the New Year are the inhabitants of the numerous Pacific Islands that are located east of 180 degrees, i.e. east of the international conventional date boundary. For example, residents of the islands of Samoa, Phoenix, etc.Nowhere in the world is New Year celebrated as often as on the Indonesian island of Bali. The fact is that a year in Bali lasts only 210 days. The main attribute of the festival is multi-colored rice, from which long ribbons, often two meters long, are baked...
Muslims use a lunar calendar, so the Muslim New Year date moves forward 11 days every year. In Iran, New Year is celebrated on March 21. A few weeks before the New Year, people plant grains of wheat or barley in a small dish. By the New Year, the grains sprout, which symbolizes the beginning of spring and a new year of life.
Hindus celebrate New Year in different ways depending on where they live. It is not so easy for a resident of India to determine what year it is. India celebrates four eras: Salivaha, Vikramditya, Jaina and Buddha. In the south of India, New Year is celebrated in March, in the north of the country - in April, in the west - at the end of October, and in the state of Kerala - either in July or in August. Residents of northern India decorate themselves with flowers in shades of pink, red, purple, or white. In south India, mothers place sweets, flowers, small gifts on a special tray. On New Year's morning, children must wait with their eyes closed until they are led to the tray. In central India, orange flags are hung on buildings. In western India, small lights are lit on the roofs of houses. On New Year's Day, Hindus think of the goddess of wealth Lakshmi.
The Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah. This is a holy time when people think about the sins they have committed and promise to atone for them next year with good deeds. Children are given new clothes. People bake bread and eat fruit.
Chinese New Year is 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 processions to light the way into 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 cover windows and doors with paper to keep out evil spirits.
In Japan, New Year is celebrated on January 1st. The custom of seeing off the Old Year is obligatory, including organizing receptions and visiting restaurants. As the New Year begins, 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. The temples ring a bell 108 times. With each blow, as the Japanese believe, everything bad goes away, which should not happen again in the New Year. To keep out evil spirits, the Japanese hang bundles of straw at the entrance to their houses, which they believe brings good luck. In houses, rice cakes are placed in a prominent place, on top of which tangerines are placed, symbolizing happiness, health and longevity. In Japan, the European Christmas tree is decorated with exotic plants growing on the islands.
In Korea, after celebrating the New Year, festivities begin on the village streets, during which girls always compete in high jumps.
In Vietnam, New Year is called Tet. He is met between January 21 and February 19. The exact date of the holiday changes from year to year. The Vietnamese believe that a god lives in every home, and on New Year's Day this god goes to heaven to tell how each family member spent the past year. The Vietnamese once believed that God swam on the back of a carp fish. Nowadays, on New Year's Day, the Vietnamese sometimes buy live carp and then release it into a river or pond. They also believe that the first person to enter their home in the New Year will bring good or bad luck for the coming year.
In Mongolia, the New Year is celebrated at the Christmas tree, although the Mongolian Santa Claus comes to the children dressed as a cattle breeder. On the New Year's holiday, sports competitions, games, and tests of dexterity and courage are held.
Burma celebrates the New Year in April, when the tropical rains end. As a sign of gratitude to nature, Burmese people pour water on each other and wish each other a Happy New Year.
In Haiti, New Year is the beginning of a new life and is therefore considered the most beloved holiday. For the New Year, Haitians try to thoroughly clean their homes, repair furniture or replace it with new ones, and also make peace with those with whom they have quarreled.
In Kenya, it is customary to celebrate the New Year on the water. On this day, Kenyans swim in rivers, lakes, and the Indian Ocean, ride boats, sing and have fun.
In Sudan, you need to celebrate the New Year on the banks of the Nile, then all your wishes will come true.
In Panama on New Year's Day there is an unimaginable noise, cars honking, people screaming... According to ancient belief, noise scares away evil spirits.
The Navajo Indians of North America have preserved the custom of celebrating the New Year around a huge bonfire in a forest clearing. They dance in white clothes, their faces are painted white, and they hold sticks with feather balls at the ends. The dancers try to be closer to the fire, and when the balls burst into flames, they rejoice. But then sixteen of the strongest men appear, they carry a bright red ball and, to the music, they pull it with a rope to the top of a high pillar. Everyone shouts: A new Sun has been born!
The USA celebrates the New Year pompously, colorfully and enthusiastically - in anticipation of gifts from “Santa Claus”. America breaks all records for greeting cards and Christmas gifts every year.
In Cuba, the clock only strikes 11 times on New Year's Day. Since the 12th strike falls right on New Year's Day, the clock is allowed to rest and calmly celebrate the holiday with everyone. In Cuba, before the New Year, all the dishes in the house are filled with water, and after midnight they throw it out onto the street, wishing that the New Year would be as clear and clean as water.
Latin America accompanies the New Year with street carnivals and theatrical performances of a mass nature.
In Australia, travel agencies for the New Year offer: shows with Polynesian dances and aborigines, representatives of the most ancient culture of Australia; a walk through a glass tunnel laid in the water column to view the inhabitants of the underwater world of Australia: sharks, stingrays, turtles, coral reef inhabitants and other marine animals.
Western Europe: celebrates the New Year with elements of choral singing, a lit, decorated Christmas tree and luxurious gifts.
In Scotland and Wales, at the last second of the old year, the doors are supposed to be opened wide to let out the Old Year and let in the New!
In Scotland, on New Year's Eve, they set fire to tar in a barrel and roll the barrel through the streets. The Scots consider this a symbol of the burning of the Old Year. After this, the road to the New Year is open. The first person to enter a house after the New Year is believed to bring good luck or bad luck. A dark-haired man with a gift is fortunate.
In Wales, when going on a visit to celebrate the New Year, you should grab a piece of coal and throw it into the fireplace lit on New Year's Eve. This indicates the friendly intentions of the guests who came.
In France, on New Year's Eve, a bean is baked in gingerbread. And the best New Year's gift for a fellow villager is a wheel.
In Sweden, on New Year's Eve, it is customary to break dishes at your neighbors' doors.
For Italians, every New Year requires paying off debts, and secondly, parting with unnecessary trash. On the night of January 1, it is customary to throw old furniture, empty bottles, etc. out of apartment windows, so it is unsafe to be on the streets at this time.
Residents of Greece, going to visit to celebrate the New Year, take with them a stone, which is thrown at the threshold of a hospitable home. If the stone is heavy, they say: “Let the owner’s wealth be as heavy as this stone.” And if the stone is small, then they wish: “Let the thorn in the owner’s eye be as small as this stone.”
In the houses of Bulgaria, as midnight approaches on December 31, the lights are turned off for three minutes and the time comes for New Year's kisses, the secret of which is preserved by darkness.
In Romania, it is customary to bake small surprises into New Year's pies - coins, porcelain figurines, rings, hot pepper pods. A ring found in a cake means that the New Year will bring much happiness. And a pod of pepper will cheer up everyone around you.
The peoples of the North are the most interesting, unexpected, and festive. New Year's Eve here turns into the personification of a feeling of immense joy and friendliness of the holiday. This is a fair and sale, this is a sports competition, this is folklore with the presence of a Christmas tree and Santa Claus, who is the keeper of secrets and surprises on this New Year's Eve
By the way, here's something else worth noting
30.12.2001 18:34 | M. E. Prokhorov/GAISH, Moscow
Every time the next New Year approached, I began to be interested in the question: “Where will he come first? Where will his journey around the Earth begin?”
In the last two years, this question interested not only me, but, of course, could not compete in popularity with the “question of the century”: “When will the new millennium begin - January 1, 2000 or 2001?”
This question actually contains several different questions. Some of them are related to physical phenomena, for example, when a given place on Earth ends average solar day December 31, 2001 or where will the Sun rise first on January 1, 2002?
In order to answer the first question, you need to find the easternmost point on Earth lying west of the date line. This is Cape Dezhnev in Chukotka (if you do not take into account the small islands lying slightly to the east). There it will happen two minutes earlier than on the Tonga Islands, and ten minutes earlier than on New Zealand's Chatham Islands. To determine the point of the earliest sunrise, it is necessary to take into account the latitude and longitude of the point, its altitude above sea level, time of year (winter in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere), etc. For example, on January 1, 2000, the earliest sunrise according to the Greenwich Observatory occurred on the island of Katchal, which is part of the protected Nicobar Islands group in the Bay of Bengal. Because of this, no one was able to celebrate the New Year there, and the very first meeting took place on the top of a mountain on Pitt Island, part of the Chatham Islands group subordinate to New Zealand.
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Another question is purely formal - where will January 1, 2002 come first according to the officially accepted time counting. Before discussing further, it’s worth looking at a number of pictures. The most convenient of them is a map time zones in cylindrical projection. The map was taken from the Educational Atlas of the World about 20 years ago (in fact, not too many changes have occurred on it during this time, you can read about the most important ones below). It shows that the Earth is divided into strips approximately 15° wide in longitude, in each of which a single time is set. Most often, time zone boundaries follow the borders of countries or their parts.
A very important detail on this map is. It passes along approximately 180° latitude, but experiences very interesting and important deviations for the issue we are considering. In the north, this line first deviates far to the east to go around Chukotka, and then to the west, going around the ridge of the Aleutian islands stretching from Alaska. Then the line goes exactly along the 180th longitude, deviating to the east just past New Zealand.
I always thought. that the New Year comes first to Chukotka, since it is located in the 12th time zone, and since in Russia it has been customary since the beginning of the 20th century maternity time(shifted 1 hour forward), then this is where the first phenomenon of the New Year occurs.
But everything turned out to be not so simple.
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 tree, look forward to the chiming clock and the coming of the New Year. Glasses of champagne are already in your hands - the long-awaited moment is about to come. In these seconds, someone makes wishes, and someone exchanges funny jokes with their neighbors, and here it is - New Year!
The entire vast country celebrates his arrival. Have you ever thought about who will be the first to celebrate the New Year 2019, to whom Father Frost or Santa Claus will send his reindeer team first? And who met him long before us? It’s quite interesting who will be celebrating the New Year a few hours after you, and who in general will be the last to celebrate 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 first to congratulate each other on the New Year are the residents of Line Island, located in the state of Kiribati. This country is part of the Christmas Islands. Kiribati is located in the earliest time zone UTC+14; it is worth noting that the island’s clocks are identical to those of Hawaii, but the difference is a whole day. Thus, when it is midnight on December 30th in Hawaii, it is already midnight on December 31st on Line Island. Also, the inhabitants of the city of Nuku'alofa, which is also located in Oceania, are among the first to celebrate the New Year. Next in line will be New Zealand, located in the UTC+13:45 time zone, followed by the islands of Phoenix, Tonga and Fiji, which are 13 hours ahead of Greenwich Time.
When is New Year celebrated in the Russian Federation?
Surely, everyone knows that Russia is in more than one time zone, but did you know that their number is nine? Thus, it turns out that Russians have an excellent opportunity to celebrate the New Year nine times. Residents of Magadan, Kamchatka and Petropavlovka are the first to fill their glasses and light sparklers. Their New Year begins on December 31 at 16.00 Moscow time, while Muscovites are just starting to put dishes on the festive table. Then at 17.00 Moscow time, everyone living in Khabarovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Vladivostok and Ussuriysk begins celebrating the New Year.
And so every hour the inhabitants of one or another territory of Russia fill their glasses and make 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. Let us 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 residents of Kaliningrad - this city is the last in Russia where the New Year begins.
When is the New Year according to the Chinese calendar?
The Chinese celebrate this holiday differently than we do - on December 31st. They adhere to the lunar calendar, according to which the New Year will begin not 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 prepare especially diligently and diligently for the New Year. First of all, the Chinese thoroughly clean their home, 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 with a clean slate and not owe anyone any money. What is important for Chinese residents 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 appease the yellow earthen pig, the patron saint of 2019.
Of course, these are not all the traditions of Chinese culture, but they can be called fundamental.
Finally
It doesn’t matter according to which calendar you prefer to celebrate 2019, and what traditions you adhere to, the main thing is a good mood and faith in the best. Try to ensure that there is no room for conflicts, quarrels and conversations about troubles and troubles at the holiday table. Greet your guests with a smile, willingly thank everyone who gives you New Year's gifts, and completely immerse yourself in 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.