2025 begins in Kiribati: the island of Kiritimati starts celebrating the New Year 8.5 hours before India

While most of the world eagerly awaits 2025, the island nation of Kiribati has already embraced the new year, becoming the first to usher in January 1, 2025. Located in the central Pacific Ocean, the Kiritimati Island, also known as Christmas Island, celebrated the arrival of the New Year as the clock struck midnight earlier today.

The island operates 14 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) and 8.5 hours ahead of India. This means that when it was 3:30 pm on December 31, 2024, in India, Kiritimati was already welcoming the dawn of January 1, 2025. The celebrations in this small Pacific island mark the official start of global New Year festivities.

The people of Kiritimati ushered in the New Year with fireworks, music and lively festivities. The jubilant atmosphere filled the island as locals embraced the new beginning of 2025, setting the tone for the celebrations that swept across the rest of the world.

For India, the time difference is impressive. While Kiribati celebrated the arrival of 2025, Indian towns and cities were still preparing for their grand New Year festivities that unfolded later in the evening.

Following Kiribati’s early celebrations, New Zealand’s Chatham Islands welcomed the New Year just 15 minutes later at 5:15 am ET. They were soon followed by mainland New Zealand and several Pacific islands, including Tokelau and Tonga. As the time zones moved forward, the New Year gradually made its way around the globe, with each region bringing its own unique traditions and festivities to the occasion.

Kiribati’s first 2025 celebration highlights the beauty of time zones, creating a seamless flow of joy as the New Year is marked at different times around the world. Each region adds its own cultural flavor to this global event.

Hawaii, American Samoa, and some US territories will be among the last to welcome 2025, with their clocks striking midnight on January 1. be celebrated in every time zone, making it a truly global phenomenon.

Here is the order of how the countries will enter in 2025:

3.30 pm IST: Kiribati

4.30pm 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, Philippines

India, Sri Lanka (5 hours 30 minutes before 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, Netherlands, 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 USA

1.30 pm IST: US West Coast (Los Angeles, San Francisco, etc.)

15:30 IST: Hawaii, French Polynesia

16.30 IST: Samoa

In this way, the New Year begins its journey around the globe, starting with Kiribati and gradually reaching every corner of the world. It brings people together in a common celebration, bringing together time zones and cultures in a collective expression of joy and hope for the coming year.