If you’re in Nigeria, for instance, it will likely not occur to you that there are countries in the world where New Year is not celebrated or where it holds very little importance.
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Reasons for this, of course, varies in such counties or regions or cultures. Here are some of them:
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, a landlocked country in East Africa, has its own calendar. And its calendar is about 7 to 8 years behind the Gregorian calendar. To the people living in the country, New Year doesn’t start on January; their own – called “Enkutatash” – is on September.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is among the Arab countries that hold strictly to Islamic traditions. Islamic calendar, not Gregorian calendar is observed there, and January doesn’t fall on the first month in Islamic calendar.
Afghanistan
Gregorian calendar holds zero significance in Afghanistan. Instead, its people tilt more towards the Persian New Year (Nowruz) which is celebrated every March 21.
North Korea
In North Korea, the Day of the Sun (Kim Il-sung’s birthday) and the Korean New Year (based on the lunar calendar) is much prominent, and Gregorian calendar is of not importance to the Koreans.
List of countries that will enter New Year before Nigeria
While Nigeria awaits the arrival of 2025 there are several other countries which are already into the New Year.
The first country in the world to step into 2025 is Christmas Island, which is located at the Republic of Kiribati. By 11 am Nigerian time, the small Island welcome the next year.
New Zealand followed. People living in the country are already in 2025 since 12 noon Nigerian time. Both Samoa and Tonga also entered with New Zealand at 12 noon.
Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and some part of Indonesia joined around 4 pm Nigerian time.
Wow! Information is power!