New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve in the Gregorian calendar refers to the evening—or commonly the entire day—of the last day of the year: 31 December. In many countries, New Year's Eve is celebrated with dancing, eating, drinking, and watching or lighting fireworks. Many Christians attend a watchnight service to mark the occasion. New Year's Eve celebrations generally continue into New Year's Day, 1 January, past midnight.

The local time zone determines the advent of the New Year; the first places to welcome the New Year are west of the International Date Line: the Line Islands (part of Kiribati), Samoa and Tonga, in the Pacific Ocean. In contrast, American Samoa, Baker Island and Howland Island (part of the United States Minor Outlying Islands) are among the last.

By region

Africa

Algeria

In Algeria, New Year's Eve is usually celebrated with family and friends. In the largest cities, there are fireworks at midnight. The Martyrs' Memorial is the main attraction during the celebration, while some Algerians prefer celebrate outside the country, generally in Tunis or Paris.

At 8 PM (AST), the President's message of greetings is read on TV. The EPTV network airs an entertainment show, with different hosts and guests.

Egypt

In Egypt, New Year's Eve is celebrated with fireworks and often evening parties with friends and family.

Ghana

In Ghana, Ghanaians celebrate New Year's Eve by going to church; others go to nightclubs, pubs or take to the streets to celebrate. At midnight, fireworks are displayed across various cities of Ghana, especially in Accra and Tema.

Morocco

In Morocco, New Year's Eve is celebrated by some in the company of family and friends. Moroccans get together to eat cake, dance, and laugh.

Nigeria

In Nigeria, Nigerians often Celebrate the New Year's Eve by going to church; others go to nightclubs and parties organized by individuals, communities, and other organizations.

In Lagos, a year-end festival known as Lagos Countdown (later renamed One Lagos Fiesta) was first held in 2012, as part of an effort to establish tourism-oriented New Year's festivities more in line with those of other major metropolitan areas.

Rwanda

In Rwanda, Rwandans celebrate New Year's Eve by going to church, taking part in social gatherings and organizing family activities. The services usually start from 6 pm for the Roman Catholic church and 10 pm for the Protestants. At 00:00, at midnight, the president delivers an end-of-year address which is broadcast live on many radio and television stations. Fireworks were introduced in recent years, with the most significant displays happening at Kigali Convention Centre, Rebero Hill, Mount Kigali.

South Africa

In South Africa, South Africans vote on a top ten music countdown before 31 December. When the countdown reaches number one, the song with the most votes plays on all the country's radio stations. Fireworks are lit all around South Africa. South Africans engage in occasional drinking and braais.

South Sudan

In South Sudan, South Sudanese attend church services at many churches in Juba. The service begins at 9 pm. At the stroke of midnight, the famous carol, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" is sung to mark the end and beginning of the year with a blessing. The service ends at 12:30 am.

Tunisia

In Tunisia, Tunisians celebrate by spending the evening in restaurants and hotels and exchange gifts and flowers, or travel outside Tunisia to spend New Year's Eve in a European country. But most Tunisians prefer to celebrate it at home in a family evening with relatives and friends.

Tunisians buy cakes or prepare them at home, in addition to holding dinner banquets, as roast chicken remains the main dish for this occasion, and staying up until midnight to eat cake as the first moments of the new year arrive.

In recent years, the popular Tunisian film Choufli Hal, New Year's Eve  is broadcast every year, ending just minutes before the new year. This has become an annual tradition.

Asia

Azerbaijan

The Gregorian calendar is still in force after Azerbaijan became an independent republic, and 1 January is celebrated as a day off. The day before, 31 December, is also marked as International Solidarity Day of Azerbaijanis, marking the double anniversary of that day in 1989 when the local residents took down the Soviet–Iranian border in then-Nakhichevan ASSR to reunite with Iranian Azerbaijanis south of the border, as well as the Istanbul-held first World Congress of Azerbaijanis which tackled issues regarding the Azeri expat communities.

Celebrations of the holiday are influenced from its Soviet history, at midnight the national anthem is played on all TV stations following the message of the President of Azerbaijan produced by state channel AzTV.

Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, public celebrations of the Gregorian new year (Pohela Boishakh—the new year of the Bengali calendar—is celebrated in April), also known as 31st night, are centered upon major cities and beaches (including the capital city of Dhaka, and Cox's Bazar Beach), and public events such as parties hosted by hotels. In major cities such as Dhaka, there are restrictions placed on New Year's celebrations for safety, security, and environmental reasons, including bans on fireworks, the flying of lanterns, and organizing outdoor cultural events such as concerts.

Hong Kong

In Hong Kong, many gather in shopping districts like Central, Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Tsui. A special edition of A Symphony of Lights —the nightly light and sound show conducted across the buildings of Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour—is held on New Year's Eve, incorporating a fireworks show.

From 1993 to 2014, the Times Square shopping centre in Causeway Bay hosted New Year's Eve festivities featuring the "lowering" of an apple (via 22 m (72 ft) of signage), in imitation of the ball drop at New York City's Times Square. The countdown event was discontinued in 2015 in favor of other events over the holiday season.

India

In India, New Year's Eve is a blend of modern celebrations and traditional festivities. Metropolitans like Kochi, Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Kolkata have parties, concerts, and colorful fireworks displays as part of the celebrations to attract crowds of people. Goa and Manali celebrate the day with beach parties and winter festivals. So, many people celebrate the festival by praying and performing rituals, since India is a culturally diverse country.

New Year's Eve celebrations are the biggest in large cities, and include Goa's beaches and Park Street, Kolkata. Other cities such as New Delhi and Mumbai also celebrate extravagantly.

Israel

New Year's Eve has been observed in Israel since the introduction of the Gregorian calendar in 1918; it is referred to as Silvester to distinguish it from the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, which falls in either September or October on the Gregorian calendar. It is largely celebrated through social gatherings and parties. The New Year's holiday has historically attracted a negative stigma among parts of the Israeli Jewish population due to its connection to Pope Sylvester I—who is widely considered to have been an antisemite. As a result, celebrations have historically been modest in comparison to other countries. In December 2014, wearables manufacturer Jawbone published a report estimating that only 67.4% of Israelis were awake at midnight on New Year's Eve in 2013, and most people only stayed up as late as 12:45 a.m. IST.

During the era of Mandatory Palestine in the early-1930s, promotional material for formal New Year's Eve parties and masquerade balls were targeted primarily towards Arabic and English-speaking residents (by contrast, posters for Hanukkah parties were written in Hebrew). These parties also became popular among German and Austrian Jews that had emigrated to avoid the rise of Nazi Germany. The increasing popularity of Sylvester faced criticism from the Orthodox population, including the Hapoel HaMizrachi, who considered them contrary to Zionist values. In 1934, it was reported that the municipal council of Tel Aviv had passed a resolution to ban Silvester parties, calling them "contrary to the spirit and traditions of the people of Israel". However, reported efforts to ban the holiday were unsuccessful or left unenforced, and it continued to increase in popularity—especially among secular populations.