The people of Kiribati and Samoa, island nations in the South Pacific, were the first to lay off in 2020 and receive in 2021.
These tropical archipelagos, with a combined population of just over 300,000, greeted the New Year at 10.00 GMT and thus entered on 1 January.
The next to receive in 2021 are the inhabitants of the New Zealand island of Chatham, located about 680 kilometers east of the main islands of this country.
The rest of the people of New Zealand and the people of Fiji and Tonga release it later this year.
New Zealand, one of the countries best managing the coronavirus pandemic, keeps its traditional fireworks in the city of Auckland to welcome the new year.
Australia, which hosts the New Year at 1pm GMT in much of the country, hosts the famous Sydney Fireworks, one of the shows that traditionally open the planet’s celebrations to welcome the new year, but without mass audience attendance due to restrictions imposed by a covid-19 outbreak.
After Japan and South Korea, Southeast Asian countries have the last minutes of 2020 with pandemic restrictions that include the cancellation of agglomerations and fireworks in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore.
Although Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam receive their New Year on different dates, they also celebrate the New Year according to the Gregorian calendar, especially in the big cities.