The first to see a new day are typically island nations in the Pacific, especially parts of Kiribati (like Millennium Island/Caroline Atoll) and Samoa/Tonga, due to their position just west of the International Date Line (IDL) in the earliest time zones (UTC+14 and UTC+13). Specific locations vary slightly with daylight saving, but Kiribati's islands are generally first, followed by New Zealand's East Cape (mainland) and Samoa/Tonga, making them the earliest to experience sunrise and the New Year.
Facts dependent on the IDL
According to the clock, the first areas to experience a new day and a New Year are islands that use UTC+14:00. These include portions of the Republic of Kiribati, including Millennium Island and Kiritimati in the Line Islands.
The Pacific island nation of Kiribati, specifically its Line Islands (including Kiritimati or Christmas Island), is the first country to see the new day, thanks to its strategic time zone adjustment to UTC+14, making it the furthest ahead of Coordinated Universal Time and just west of the International Date Line. Other nations like Samoa and Tonga also experience the new day very early due to their positions near the Date Line.
*** KIRIBATI - the country where the sun rises first in the world. Kiritimati of Line Islands is the part of the Kiribati that sees the sun first in the world while Tiwara, the capital of Kiribati, is in the time zone 3 hours behind Kiritimati. Tiwara's time zone is the same as New Zealand.
Kiribati, an island nation in the Pacific, starts the day first because its easternmost islands, the Line Islands (including Kiritimati or Christmas Island), are in the UTC+14 time zone, the earliest time zone on Earth, after a 1995 time zone adjustment to unify the country. This strategic shift moved them to the west of the International Date Line, making them the first inhabited places to see the new day and New Year.
The first country to enter 2025 is the Pacific island nation of Kiribati, specifically its Line Islands like Kiritimati (Christmas Island). Due to its location just west of the International Date Line, Kiribati experiences the New Year first, with its celebrations beginning as early as 10:00 AM UTC on December 31st, ahead of other nations.
Technically, Sunday is the first day of the week because it always has been. However, this is based on the concept that the seventh day is a day of rest and the original sabbath in the Judaeo Christian system was Saturday, ie. the end of the week.
Thanks to its position just west of the International Date Line, places like the East Cape and Gisborne on the North Island are among the first to welcome each new day.
Although sun worship has been used frequently as a term for “pagan” religion, it is, in fact, relatively rare. Though almost every culture uses solar motifs, only a relatively few cultures (Egyptian, Indo-European, and Meso-American) developed solar religions.
As you may know the international date line is as crooked as the contents of a badly packed suitcase, and Samoa, once known as the last place to see the sun set, is now the first place on the planet you can see the sun rise. This makes it's neighbour American Samoa the last.
The last places to enter 2026
While Baker and Howland Islands are technically last on the clock, they are uninhabited. For travelers, the meaningful “last New Year” celebrations happen in American Samoa, Niue, and Hawaii.
Where on Earth does the clock strike midnight first on New Year's Eve? The Pacific island nations of Tonga, Samoa, and Kiribati are the first to ring in the New Year.
The day is written first and the year last in most countries (dd-mm-yyyy) and some nations, such as Iran, Korea, and China, write the year first and the day last (yyyy-mm-dd).
Kiribati ushered in 2026 when it was 5 a.m. Eastern on Dec. 31. After Kiribati, Samoa and Tonga are among the first countries to welcome the New Year. The New Zealand city of Auckland is considered one of the first major cities to welcome each day.
Japan is known as the “Land of Rising Sun”. It is called by this name because the sun rises first in Japan and then in any other part of the world.
Japan is often referred to as "the land of the rising sun". In the 12th century work The Tale of the Heike, it was written that different samurai carried drawings of the Sun on their fans. The Japanese word for Japan is 日本, which is pronounced 'Nihon' or 'Nippon', and literally means "the origin of the Sun".
Deuteronomy 4
19 Don't look to the skies, to the sun or the moon or the stars, all the heavenly bodies, and be led astray, worshipping and serving them. The Lord your God has granted these things to all the nations who live under heaven.
In the context of the spiritual meaning of waking up at 3 AM in Hinduism, it is believed that divine energies are closer to the human world at this time, offering healing, guidance, and rejuvenation.
The sun rises first in Australia at Cape Pillar, Tasmania, for the overall continent (including islands) and Cape Howe, New South Wales, for the mainland, due to their extreme eastern positions, though specific times shift with seasons, with Cape Byron, NSW, often cited as the mainland's earliest spot for general sunrise viewing, while some isolated islands or territories get light even earlier.
New Zealand is located under more of the ozone hole than Australia and is also less polluted, allowing more UV through the atmosphere.
For four months every year, the sun 'never rises' above Svalbard, leaving the town in darkness. There's then a two month transition period before 24/7 sunlight - the midnight sun!
Friday is called Friday from the Old English frīgedæg, meaning "day of Frigg," a Germanic goddess of love and fertility, named by translating the Roman dies Veneris ("day of Venus"), as both goddesses were associated with love. Germanic tribes adopted the Roman seven-day week but substituted their own deities, leading to names like Freitag (German) and vrijdag (Dutch).
From creation onward, the people of God worshiped on the seventh day of the week. This was a “creation ordinance” that the Creator Himself established by His example, with the intent that His creatures would follow it. He worked six days and called His image-bearers to work (Gen.
Our use of the seven-day week can be traced back to the astronomically gifted Babylonians and the decree of King Sargon I of Akkad around 2300 BCE. They venerated the number seven, and before telescopes the key celestial bodies numbered seven (the Sun, the Moon and the five planets visible to the naked eye).