Countdown to
New Year's Eve
The night the whole world counts down
Today is New Year's Eve.
59 days until New Year's Eve, on Thursday, December 31, 2026.
New Year's Eve is Thursday, December 31, 2026. Happens every December 31.
New Year’s Eve is the last night of the year, observed every December 31 as the clock runs down toward midnight and the start of January 1. It is one of the few occasions marked in nearly every country, tied not to a single religion or nation but to the calendar itself.
The countdown on this page runs to the start of December 31. For a live countdown to the stroke of midnight itself, see New Year’s Day.
Origins
The date owes its meaning to the calendar reforms of ancient Rome. In 46 BC, Julius Caesar’s Julian calendar fixed January 1 as the start of the year — a month named for Janus, the two-faced god of doorways who looked backward and forward at once, a fitting emblem for the turn of the year. Through much of medieval Europe the year instead began on dates such as March 25 or Christmas Day, and January 1 fell out of official use. The Gregorian calendar, introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582, restored January 1 as New Year’s Day. Adoption was slow and uneven: Britain and its American colonies did not switch until 1752, which is why some older records carry two different years for dates in late winter.
How it’s observed
Because the world is divided into time zones, New Year’s Eve is not a single moment but a wave that circles the planet over roughly a day. The first celebrations begin in the Pacific islands of Kiribati and Samoa, and the last fall on the uninhabited U.S. Baker and Howland Islands, more than a full day behind.
Most traditions center on the stroke of midnight. Crowds count down the final seconds, toast with sparkling wine, set off fireworks, and sing “Auld Lang Syne,” a Scots poem set to a folk melody and popularized as a New Year’s anthem across the English-speaking world. In New York, the illuminated ball has descended over Times Square nearly every December 31 since 1907. Spain and much of Latin America eat twelve grapes at the twelve chimes of midnight, one for luck in each month ahead. In Scotland, the celebration of Hogmanay brings “first-footing,” in which the first guest to cross the threshold after midnight carries symbolic gifts of good fortune. Many people also mark the night more quietly, taking stock of the year gone by and setting resolutions for the one about to begin.
🥂 Fun facts about New Year's Eve
- The first illuminated ball descended over Times Square on December 31, 1907, and the drop has marked midnight there nearly every year since; the ball itself has been rebuilt several times, most recently as the Constellation Ball unveiled in 2025.
- In Spain, revelers eat twelve grapes in time with the twelve strokes of midnight, one for luck in each coming month — a custom widely traced to Alicante grape growers in the early 1900s.
- Because the world is split into time zones, the new year first arrives in the Pacific nation of Kiribati and reaches the uninhabited U.S. Baker Island last, roughly 26 hours later.
- Samoa skipped December 30, 2011 entirely, jumping across the International Date Line to share a calendar with Australia and New Zealand — turning one of the last places to greet the new year into one of the first.
- "Auld Lang Syne," sung around the world at midnight, is a Scots poem Robert Burns wrote down in 1788, set to a traditional folk melody.
Upcoming New Year's Eve dates
| Date | Days away |
|---|---|
| 59 days | |
| 424 days | |
| 790 days | |
| 1,155 days | |
| 1,520 days |
How people mark New Year's Eve
- Counting down to midnight
- Watching the Times Square ball drop
- Toasting with sparkling wine
- Fireworks displays
- Singing "Auld Lang Syne"
- Making New Year's resolutions
Frequently asked
What day is New Year's Eve?
New Year's Eve is always December 31, the final day of the Gregorian calendar year. It is the night before New Year's Day, January 1.
Where in the world does the new year begin first?
Thanks to time zones, the earliest celebrations happen in the Pacific — the Line Islands of Kiribati, at UTC+14, are the first to reach midnight. The last are the uninhabited U.S. Baker and Howland Islands, about a full day behind.
Why do people sing "Auld Lang Syne" at midnight?
The song is a Scots poem by Robert Burns about remembering old friends and times past, which made it a natural anthem for the turn of the year. Its popularity as a midnight tradition spread widely through the English-speaking world in the 20th century.
Why is January 1 the start of the year?
January 1 was fixed as the start of the year by Julius Caesar's Julian calendar in 46 BC and reaffirmed by the Gregorian calendar in 1582. That is what makes December 31 the year's final night.