Countdown to 2027
The countdown above runs to midnight on January 1, 2027, which falls on a Friday. It uses the clock of your device, so it reaches zero at midnight where you are, not in London or New York. Leave it open on the TV during the party: the last minute is the best part, and a bell rings at zero.
Why the year starts on January 1
The custom comes from Rome. From 153 BC, the two consuls who led the Roman Republic took office on January 1, and the date became the start of the civil year. The calendar of Julius Caesar, in force from 45 BC, kept it. In the Middle Ages, many parts of Europe started the year on other dates, such as March 25, Christmas or Easter. France went back to January 1 with the Edict of Roussillon, signed in 1564 and applied from 1567. Scotland followed in 1600, and England and its American colonies only in 1752.
New Year’s Day in the coming years
| Year | Day of the week |
|---|---|
| 2027 | Friday |
| 2028 | Saturday |
| 2029 | Monday |
| 2030 | Tuesday |
| 2031 | Wednesday |
| 2032 | Thursday |
| 2033 | Saturday |
Who celebrates first?
Midnight takes about a day to travel around the planet. The first inhabited place to enter the new year is Kiritimati, in the Line Islands of Kiribati, at UTC+14. The last ones are American Samoa and Niue, at UTC−11, a full day later. To follow friends and family abroad, the world clock shows the time in each city.
Ideas for the last minutes of the year
- Go full screen on the TV and use + to make the numbers fill the screen.
- Test the sound before 11 PM: tap the sound in the sentence to hear it.
- Rename the countdown, for example “Happy 2027 from the Smiths”, before you send the link.
- Share the link with friends in other time zones: each one counts down to their own midnight.