Updated | 2018 has officially begun, at least in some parts of the world. The first to welcome the new year are people in the Pacific islands of Samoa, Tonga and Kiritimati, an atoll in the ocean also known as Christmas Island, part of the republic of Kiribati.
Samoa, a country comprising the westernmost group of Polynesia’s Samoan Islands where less than 200,000 people live, was once one of the last places in the world to celebrate the New Year. Then, in 2011, it decided to change its international dateline to align more closely with New Zealand and Australia in a bid to improve trade ties.
The move, which reversed a decision taken 119 years previously to align with the U.S., required the country to skip a day, so Dec. 30, 2011 never happened in Samoa, as the BBC reported at the time.
Keep Up With This Story And More By Subscribing Now
American Samoa however decided to stick with the international dateline, which is now crossing between the two island groups. This means that those who really love New Year’s celebrations could be in Samoa on Jan. 1, take a boat to cross the 100 miles to American Samoa, and party on New Year’s Eve all over again.
New Zealand entered 2018 an hour after Samoa. Fireworks lit up the sky over the city of Auckland and in Wellington, the first major capital to welcome the new year.
The Wellington City Council organized the celebrations at the Whareipo Lagoon in the city center, an area that was only given its official name in 2015. The word ‘Whairepo’ is the Māori name for the eagle ray that feed and shelter in the lagoon.
HaPpy new year
nice