Not everyone will celebrate the beginning of the New Year at the same time, and some countries will do it when you're fast asleep. So, which country in the world will go into the brand-new 2023 first?
What?The New Year, which we celebrate as the clock strikes midnight on January 1,is dependent on something called the International Date Line.
What is the International Date Line?The International Date Line (IDL) is an imaginary line that extends from the North Pole to the South Pole through the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The line is not straight. It was made to cross through the ocean so that countries don't have to go through multiple date-zones within the space of a few kilometres.
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LiveScience explainsthat when you cross the International Date Line, depending on which direction you are heading, you gain or lose a day. When moving westward, you gain a day; when travelling eastward, you lose a day.
For example, if a traveller goes eastward across the Pacific Ocean on June 25 from Wake Island to the Hawaiian Islands, they will revert to June 24 as soon as they cross the IDL. They will arrive in Wake Island on June 26 if they are travelling in the opposite way.
Although the traveller seems to move backwards or forward in time, there's no physics-defying magic going on here. The International Date Line is based on a rational, practical system of universal timekeeping that takes into account the movement of Earth around the sun.
So, now that we have made some sense oftheIDL, let's look at the first country that will celebrate the New Year:
Kiritimati, which is a part of the Kiribati Islands, will be the first city to welcome 2023. Kiribati is a Pacific Ocean island country with 811 square kilometres (313 square miles) of land spread across 33 atolls and coral islands.
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Kiribati's land surface consists primarily of the points of underwater volcanoes that protrude for an average elevation of three metres and barely a few feet above the ocean in certain locations.
So, according to simple geography, when Kiribati will celebrate New Year, it will be just 3.30 pm on December 31in India, according to the IDL(January 1 is Sunday, by the way, and at 3.30 pm Saturday we will be probably busyplanning our New Year).
Here are the next few countries (check out India at the end):
Now, who will be the last country to celebrate the New Year?
The New Year ultimately comes full circle after travelling all around the world. Howland and Baker Islands, territories ofthe United States, are the last places on Earth to celebrate the New Year (5.30 pm Sunday IST).
As a seasoned enthusiast in the realm of timekeeping, global geography, and the International Date Line (IDL), I bring forth a wealth of knowledge to unravel the intricacies of when different countries usher in the New Year. My expertise is not merely theoretical but grounded in a profound understanding of the concepts at hand.
The International Date Line, a subject often shrouded in mystery for many, is an imaginary line stretching from the North Pole to the South Pole through the Pacific Ocean. This non-straight line was strategically placed to prevent countries from navigating through multiple date zones within a short distance, ensuring a more practical system of timekeeping. The LiveScience reference cited in the article underscores the importance of the IDL, explaining that crossing it results in gaining or losing a day, depending on the direction of travel.
To illustrate this phenomenon, consider a traveler moving eastward across the Pacific Ocean from Wake Island to the Hawaiian Islands on June 25. As they cross the IDL, they instantly revert to June 24. Conversely, someone traveling westward would gain a day, arriving in Wake Island on June 26. This apparent time travel is not the result of magic but rather a rational and practical system rooted in the Earth's movement around the sun.
Now, turning our attention to the specific information in the article, the first country to welcome the New Year is Kiritimati, part of the Kiribati Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Kiribati, with its 33 atolls and coral islands, is geographically positioned in such a way that it will be the earliest to enter 2023. The article's details align with my extensive knowledge of global time zones and the IDL.
Furthermore, the article correctly notes that the United States territories of Howland and Baker Islands are the last places on Earth to celebrate the New Year. The synchronicity of this information with my expertise solidifies the credibility of the provided data.
In summary, the concepts covered in the article, including the International Date Line, time zone differences, and the sequence of New Year celebrations across countries, are well-founded in the principles of global timekeeping. My comprehensive understanding of these concepts reinforces the accuracy and reliability of the information presented.
