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When is New Year's Eve?
New Year's Eve falls on Thursday, December 31, 2026.
About New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve falls on December 31 every year, the last day of the Gregorian calendar, and is celebrated worldwide. Customs vary from country to country. Fireworks at midnight are common almost everywhere, while particular traditions include the dropping of the ball in Times Square in New York, the Hogmanay celebrations in Scotland, the ringing of temple bells in Japan, and the eating of 12 grapes at midnight in Spain, one for each chime. The transition into January 1 is widely marked with toasts, fireworks and the singing of "Auld Lang Syne", a Scots-language poem set to a traditional tune. New Year's Eve is not a public holiday in most countries, though many workplaces close early or treat it as a half-day. The day that follows, January 1, is a public holiday almost everywhere.
The midnight moment arrives at different times around the world, depending on time zone. Auckland in New Zealand and parts of the Pacific are among the first major populated places to enter the new year. Sydney hosts one of the world's most-watched fireworks displays over its harbour, drawing more than a million spectators in person. In Edinburgh, the Hogmanay celebrations span three days and include a torchlight procession, a large street party and the tradition of "first-footing", or visiting friends and neighbours after midnight. The Times Square ball has been lowered to mark the new year since 1907, and the event is broadcast worldwide. The current ball is a 12-foot geodesic sphere covered with more than 2,500 Waterford crystal triangles, and it has been the centre of the Times Square celebration for over a century.
Frequently asked questions
Why do people sing "Auld Lang Syne" on New Year's Eve?
"Auld Lang Syne" is a song based on a poem written down by the Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1788, set to an older folk tune. The title means roughly "old long since", or "days gone by". It became linked to the new year through Scottish Hogmanay custom, where it was sung at the close of gatherings. Scottish emigrants carried the practice abroad, and the bandleader Guy Lombardo helped fix it as a New Year's Eve standard in North America through broadcasts from the late 1920s. It is now sung at midnight in many English-speaking countries.
When did the Times Square ball drop start?
The first Times Square ball drop took place on December 31, 1907, organised by Adolph Ochs, the owner of The New York Times, to mark the new year. An illuminated wood-and-iron ball was lowered down a pole on the newspaper's headquarters. The event has been held in almost every year since, with the ball missing only in 1942 and 1943 because of wartime restrictions on lighting. The ball itself has been rebuilt several times. The current version is a 12-foot sphere covered with Waterford crystal triangles and lit by LEDs.
Is New Year's Eve a public holiday?
New Year's Eve, December 31, is not a public holiday in most countries. It is usually a normal working day, although many employers allow staff to finish early, and shops, offices and public transport often run reduced hours into the evening. A few countries or regions grant official or partial time off. The day that follows, January 1, is different, and it is a public holiday almost everywhere in the world. So the common pattern is a working or half day on the 31st followed by a full day off on the 1st.
What time does the new year arrive around the world?
The new year arrives at midnight local time, so it sweeps around the globe across about 26 hours as each time zone reaches that point. The islands of Kiribati and Samoa in the Pacific are among the first to cross into January 1. New Zealand follows soon after, then Australia and East Asia. London reaches midnight several hours later, and the eastern United States about five hours after that. The last inhabited places to mark the new year are Baker Island and Howland Island in the Pacific.
What are common New Year's Eve traditions in different countries?
Fireworks at midnight are the one near-universal tradition, but local customs differ. In Spain people eat 12 grapes as the clock strikes twelve, one per chime, for luck in each month ahead. In Scotland, Hogmanay includes first-footing, where the first visitor after midnight brings symbolic gifts. In Japan, Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times. In Denmark some people jump off a chair at midnight to leap into the year. In Brazil many wear white and head to the beach, while in the southern United States eating black-eyed peas is thought to bring good fortune.