What's the Last Place in the World To Celebrate the New Year?
Sparkler to celebrate the New Year
Tick, tock, tick, tock. If you think about it, time is literally on its own schedule, which means even after you have raised your glass to celebrate the New Year where you are, other places around the world will still be patiently waiting to do the same. It’s all because there are actually 38 different time zones across the globe!
Because of this, some countries may even ring in the New Year an entire day before you do (depending on where you’re located) while others might not until almost a full day later. No matter where you fall into the lineup, starting 2024 will be a memorable and exciting experience. It will be a time filled with hope, inspiration and fresh starts. A day where you can begin to work toward your goals and look forward to the days that are ahead. That’s why it’s a holiday that is so widely celebrated around the world.
If you’re curious about which locations are the last places on Earth to enter into the New Year, keep reading! We’re revealing the names of those areas, as well as the very last spot that will be ringing in 2024. You might be surprised to see which ones are on the list.
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What's the Last Place To Celebrate the New Year?
While the first place on Earth to celebrate the New Year is Kiritimati Island at 5:00 a.m. EST on Sunday, the last two places do so pretty much an entire day later! Baker Island and Howland Island are officially the last destinations to ring in 2024 at 7:00 a.m. EST on Monday. If you’ve never heard of either island before, they are located southwest of Honolulu, Hawaii.
However, unlike Hawaii, Baker Island and Howland Island are actually uninhabited, so, sadly, there won’t be anyone popping champagne bottles at midnight in those specific regions. Instead, it’ll just be another day there for the seabirds and turtles who call those tropical areas home.
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What Other Areas in the World Celebrate the New Year Last?
Believe it or not, most of the world will have already entered 2024 by the time these last few areas do. We rounded up the regions that enter the New Year just before Baker Island and Howland Island. They are listed in order of when the clock strikes twelve there in Eastern Standard Time.
1. East Coast areas of the United States, like New York and Washington D.C., and places such as Peru, Ecuador, Montreal and Havana all ring in the New Year at midnight EST, making them some of the last places to do so.
2. An hour later at 1:00 a.m. EST on Monday, January 1, other regions of the United States, like Chicago and Dallas, along with Mexico City and Costa Rica, enter 2024.
3. At 2:00 a.m. EST on Monday, it’s January 1st in some of the Southwest states in the U.S., like Utah and Arizona, as well as parts of Canada and Mexico.
4. When it’s 3:00 a.m. EST on Monday morning, it’s officially New Year’s on the Pacific Coast of the U.S., in cities like Los Angeles. The British islands of Pitcairn and Vancouver, Canada, will also celebrate at that time.
5. Alaska gets to say “Happy New Year!” at 4:00 a.m. EST on Monday. Regions of French Polynesia do as well.
6. Thirty minutes later, at 4:30 a.m. EST Monday, it’s time for the Marquesas Islands to leave 2023 behind.
7. 5:00 a.m. EST Monday morning is when Hawaii and New Zealand’s Cook Islands say goodbye to 2023.
8. When 6:00 a.m. EST comes around on Monday, January 1, that’s when American Samoa and Pago Pago enter the New Year. They are the last populated places to celebrate 2024 in the whole world and do so just an hour before Baker Island and Howland Island finish off the list.
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