How many days until New Year's?
The number above shows how many days until New Year's Day, Friday 1 January 2027. The ticker counts down the hours, minutes and seconds to midnight in your time zone, so you can leave this page open on New Year's Eve and count the last ten seconds together.
New Year's Eve 2026 is Thursday 31 December, exactly one week after Christmas Eve.
Who celebrates first and last?
The New Year arrives first in Kiribati's Line Islands, just west of the International Date Line, followed soon after by Samoa, Tonga and New Zealand. Sydney is one of the first big cities, famous for its harbour fireworks. Pakistan welcomes the New Year five hours before London and ten hours before New York. The very last inhabited places to reach midnight are American Samoa and nearby islands, around 25 hours after the first.
New Year's Eve traditions
- New York: the ball drop in Times Square, a tradition since the end of 1907.
- Spain: eating twelve grapes, one on each stroke of midnight, for twelve lucky months.
- Scotland: Hogmanay, with "first-footing", the first visitor of the year bringing gifts for luck.
- Denmark: jumping off a chair at midnight to "leap" into the new year.
- Brazil: wearing white on the beach and offering flowers to the sea.
- Everywhere: fireworks, resolutions and singing "Auld Lang Syne", the old Scottish song by Robert Burns.
Why 1 January?
The Roman calendar reformed by Julius Caesar in 46 BC set 1 January as the start of the year. The Gregorian calendar, introduced in 1582 and now used around the world, kept it. Some cultures still celebrate other new years, such as Lunar New Year, Nowruz and Rosh Hashanah.
Counting down to Christmas first? See the Christmas countdown and the holiday countdowns.
New Year's resolutions that last
Most resolutions fade by February. The ones that stick are small, specific and written down: "walk 20 minutes after lunch" rather than "get fit". Pick one or two, tell someone, and track them weekly. And if you want something to look forward to straight after New Year, the Valentine's Day countdown is next.
New Year food traditions
Food is at the heart of New Year in many cultures. In the southern US, black-eyed peas and greens are eaten on 1 January for luck and money. In the Netherlands, oliebollen, deep-fried dough balls, are sold on every corner. In Japan, families eat toshikoshi soba, long buckwheat noodles for a long life, on New Year's Eve. In Greece, a vasilopita cake is baked with a coin hidden inside, and whoever finds it has luck all year.
Questions people ask
Quick answers about this countdown.
How many days until New Year 2027?
The live number at the top counts down to Friday 1 January 2027.
What day is New Year's Eve 2026?
Thursday 31 December 2026.
Where does New Year come first?
Kiribati's Line Islands, followed by Samoa, Tonga and New Zealand.
How many weeks until New Year's?
Divide the days at the top by seven.
More holiday countdowns
More countdowns, tools and Christmas reading on Christmas Days Left.