New Year Countdown

Counting down to the New Year

This counter runs to midnight at the start of January 1, which is the moment the new year begins. It reads the time zone from the device you are using, so the countdown reaches zero at your local midnight rather than someone else's. Sydney gets there first among the big cities, then Tokyo, then continental Europe, London, and finally New York, Chicago and the west coast of North America.

The date is worked out in your browser each time the page loads, so the countdown never needs updating. When the clock passes midnight the page congratulates you and immediately begins counting toward the following January 1.

Making the countdown useful

New Year's Eve tends to sneak up in the gap between Christmas and the return to work. A few things worth timing:

• Bookings. Restaurants and venues for December 31 fill up weeks in advance, and many take deposits in early December.
• Travel. Trains and flights on December 27 to 30 are among the busiest of the year, so watch the counter and book while there is still choice.
• Party planning. Count backwards two weeks from midnight for invitations and one week for food and drink.
• The last of the sales. Post-Christmas discounts usually run from December 26 to early January. The discount calculator works just as well on January sales as on Black Friday.

New Year traditions around the world

Most of the English speaking world sees in the new year with fireworks and a countdown from ten, but the details vary. In Scotland, Hogmanay stretches over several days and brings the tradition of first footing, where the first visitor after midnight arrives with a small gift. In Spain and much of Latin America people eat twelve grapes, one on each chime of midnight. In Denmark it is common to jump from a chair as the clock strikes, and in Japan temple bells are rung 108 times.

January 1 has only been the standard start of the year in the English speaking world since the Calendar Act of 1750, which moved Britain and its colonies from March 25 to January 1 and adopted the Gregorian calendar. That same Gregorian calendar is what makes a countdown like this one reliable: the rules for leap years are fixed and predictable, which is why the page can calculate any future New Year without being told the answer in advance.