New Year's Day 2026

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When is New Year's Day 2026?

When is New Year's Day 2026
When is New Years Day 2026

According to the official calendar of federal holidays, the date of the New Year's Day 2026 will be happily celebrated on Wednesday, January 1st (1/1/2026).


But do You Really Know the Meaning of this Special Date?

Celebrating the first day of another year on Earth has been a historical tradition for millennia.

We're usually excited about this special date because it is always a milestone time of year: we say goodbye to 2022 and welcome 2026 with new hope that this will be a better year.

People realize the importance of surviving another year (while many fell by the wayside) and celebrate the chance to start a new cycle in their lives with resolutions for change and parties full of good times.

In the United States, the New Year is usually celebrated with a huge party starting on New Year's Eve.

People usually celebrate the last hours of the year by toasting with their loved ones while watching the countdown through the television station that broadcasts the traditional lowering of the famous Times Square Ball in New York City:

New Years Day 2026 in New York City
New Years Day 2026 in Times Square

In the United Kingdom, Brits traditionally count down the New Year to the bells of Big Ben as they count from ten to one before the fireworks explode and toast with loved ones.

In Spain, Spaniards traditionally try to eat 12 grapes in the 12 seconds before midnight on New Year's Eve.

In Switzerland, the Swiss keep the custom of throwing drops of whipped cream on the ground and leaving them there overnight to invite wealth and wealth in the new year.

In Colombia, Colombians believe that wearing yellow underwear to celebrate New Year's Eve has the power to attract love and happiness throughout the year.

In Japan, Buddhist monks ring their temple bells 108 times to represent every human sin and encourage people to make better choices in the new year.

But regardless of the customs of each country, we see people all over the world maintaining the traditions of this special date with champagne toasts, hugs, songs and fireworks that begin to light up the skies in the first seconds of the year.

At some point we realized that the invisible ties that strongly unite us to people with such diverse customs are responsible for making this special date one of the most celebrated holidays in the world!


3 Key Facts To Know!

1. Holiday Name: New Year's Day.

2. Holiday Type: Federal Holiday, Public Holiday.

3. When is the Holiday: First day of the year on Gregorian Calendar.


Which Country Celebrates New Year First 2026?

Due to the different time zones in which countries are located, traditions and celebrations to welcome in the New Year last up to 25 hours every year.

Located in the UTC+14 or GMT+14 time zone, the roughly 121,000 people living in the small Pacific nation of Kiribati will be the first to celebrate New Year 2026.

The time zone in Kiribati is 14 hours ahead of UTC Time (Coordinated Universal Time) or GMT Time (Greenwich Mean Time).


Last Country To Celebrate New Year 2026

After activating the countdown around the world, the New Year finally comes full circle as it reaches the United States Minor Outlying Islands.

Located in the UTC-12 or GMT-12 time zone, the uninhabited Pacific islands of Baker Island and Howland Island are the last places to celebrate New Year.

Although these are uninhabited islands, the day technically ends an hour later in these US territories.

Lady Kronos

Lady Kronos Tips: you can learn more about the history of this special day by studying this this Wikipedia topic and reading this Encyclopedia Britannica article.


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Why Does the Year Always Start on January 1st?

New Year's Day 2026 Date
New Year's Day Dates

Although the New Year always starts on January 1st in most countries around the world, this has not always been the case.

Different civilizations measured time in different ways, with some basing the year around the sun and others marking the year on the moon.

For centuries, other dates marked the beginning of the calendar, including March 25th and December 25th.

The first time the New Year was celebrated on January 1 was in Rome in the year 153 BC.

It should be noted that the month of January did not exist until around 700 BC, when the second king of Rome (Numa Pontilius) added the month of January to the calendar.

Today's Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII to correct some minor inaccuracies, but it continues to start the year in January.

The Gregorian calendar has achieved validity in most countries and has become the standard most of the world uses today.

However, many people around the world celebrate the civil holiday on January 1st and celebrate their cultural or religious New Year on another date.

In Israel, Jews celebrate the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) between September 5th and October 5th, following the Jewish religious calendar.

In the Middle East, Muslims celebrate the Islamic New Year (Muharram) between July 18th and July 19th, following a 12-lunar month where the sighting of a new moon determines the start of a new month.

The Islamic lunar calendar has 354 days and changes its New Year by approximately eleven days each year.

The Chinese Lunar New Year is the most popular and begins at sunset on the day of the second new moon after the winter solstice.

In China, Chinese people celebrate Chinese New Year sometime between January 21st and February 21st, following the lunar calendar.

Lunar New Years vary and require a bit of calculation, as a lunar year has 12 full moon cycles and shifts your New Year by approximately eleven days each year.

Rest assured and avoid wasting time doing tedious calculations, you can easily find the past and future dates of this holiday in the following table:

New Year's Day Dates
2021 New Year's Day Friday, January 1st, 2021
2022 New Year's Day Saturday, January 1st, 2022
  2023 New Year's Day Sunday, January 1st, 2023  
New Years Day 2024 Monday, January 1st, 2024
New Years Day 2025 Tuesday, January 1st, 2025
New Years Day 2026 Wednesday, January 1st, 2026
New Years Day 2027 Thursday, January 1st, 2027

In 2026, the commemoration of this festive day will be observed exactly on the New Year will be observed exactly in week 1, on Wednesday, January 1st (this date is the 1st day of the year).

New Years Day is recognized as a federal holiday by the government of the United States and most countries around the world.

In these countries, government offices, organizations, schools, banks, shops, restaurants and most businesses remain closed this holiday.

Public transport systems do not operate on their regular schedules, we recommend that you check the new timetables with local authorities before traveling this holiday.

Where large public celebrations have been held, traffic may be stopped by the clearing operation.

Lady Kronos

Lady Kronos Tips: access the online countdown in our Time Calculator app and easily follow how many days until New Years Day in real time.


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Restaurants Open on New Year's Day 2026

Restaurants Open on New Years Day 2026
Restaurants Open on New Years Day 2026

Have You Already Planned To Buy Everything You Need To Celebrate This Special Day?

You need to avoid visiting closed stores on the holiday if you want to complete your most urgent purchases!

Know that at the distance of a click you will find everything you need to plan your shopping with peace of mind and find several restaurants open on New Year's Day.

We offer a complete guide to restaurants, supermarkets, shopping malls, gift shops, electronics stores, department stores, bookstores, toy stores, pet stores, bakeries, coffee shops, pastry shops, sports stores, hardware stores, garden centers , gas stations, tire stores, car dealerships, drugstores, banks and DIY stores closest to you.

Access our directory of opening hours for stores near you to find the location and opening hours of stores during the holiday period.

Lady Kronos

Lady Kronos Tips: here's the secret to help you get discount coupons to save up to 80% at the checkout of your online purchases before and during this special holiday.


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Celebrating New Year's Day 2026

Celebrating New Years Day 2026
Celebrating New Years Day in 2026

Whether you celebrate this festive day with family, friends or quietly at home, we recommend that you slow down a bit and take some time to reflect deeply.

Try to remember only the good times of past celebrations and how much they mean to you and the people you love (even when some important people are gone and missed forever).

It's never too late to go back to celebrating days like this with those who care about you, understand that life is a breath and it goes by too fast.

How about living each moment intensely and breaking the ice by sharing this article with your friends and family to invite them to celebrate this special day together?

You don't even have to worry about writing a text, just choose one of the texts below and click to share it on Twitter with everyone.

Click on a link to Tweet now:

Share on Twitter

Where Are We Going To Celebrate New Year's Day This Year?


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You Are Invited To Come And Celebrate New Year's Day At My House This Year!



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From the entire CalendarHours family, we wish you a Happy New Year!


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