Happy New Year: Samoa, Kiribati beat other countries to welcome 2021
- As other nations wait to experience the new year, Samoa and Kiribati are in it already
- The two countries were reported to be the first nations on the earth to hit the last midnight of 2020
- Though they are 14 hours ahead of many, the UTC and GMT still remain the standard units of time
PAY ATTENTION: Join Briefly News' Telegram channel! Never miss important updates!
Samoa and some parts of Kiribati, both island nations, are the first to welcome 2021 and bid goodbye to a year that was marred by a world pandemic.
BNO News reports that both countries are way above many countries by 14 hours. Hawaii is another place that is on their time level.
The same media also said that this would be the ninth time Samoa will be ahead of several countries to cross into the new year.
In 2011, the country’s adjusted its timezone to move towards the west line as a way to make doing business with countries like New Zealand and Australia easier.
Source: UGC
Fifteen minutes after Samoa ‘crossed over’, New Zealand followed through, making Chatham the second-earliest place on earth to 'enter' into the new year.
Also worthy of note is that the astronauts on the International Space Station will have different chances to celebrate the new year as they circle the globe, and the official time on the station is in UTC or GMT.
Like never before, many countries around the world will be celebrating new year's eve differently as they adhere to anti-COVID-19 measures.
Meanwhile, Briefly.co.za earlier reported that all churches in Lagos state were directed to close their cross-over night services by 11pm on December 31, 2020.
The directive was issued by the Lagos state chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in a statement on Tuesday, December 29. The statement was signed by the CAN chairman in Lagos, Bishop Steven Adegbite.
This came days after the Living Faith Church, also known as Winners’ Chapel, cancelled its 2020/2021 crossover night service.
Winners’ Chapel’s crossover night service holds yearly on December 31 to January 1, within the hours of 10 pm - 4am.
Enjoyed reading our story? Download BRIEFLY's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major South African news!
Source: Briefly News
