Japanese people welcome in the new year by praying and wishing for prosperity, safety and good health at a shrine or temple. Known as 'Hatsumode', the act of visiting a shrine or temple for the first time in a year usually occurs on the first, second or third day of the new year during Sanganichi.

The date was chosen partly in honor of Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and the month's namesake. Though medieval Christians attempted to replace January 1 with more religiously significant dates, Pope Gregory XIII created a revised calendar that officially established January 1 as New Year's Day in 1582.

The small Pacific island nations of Samoa and Kiribati/Christmas Island are the first to see the New Year on Dec 31. As Samoans are counting down to midnight, most New Yorkers are still asleep at 5 a.m. EST. The last (inhabited) country to ring in the New Year is American Samoa, on Jan 1 at 6 a.m. EST.

The last country in the world to welcome the New Year is the Howland and Barker Islands, which belong to the United States and will celebrate almost at the same time as Niue Island in New Zealand, Tahiti in French Polynesia, Pitcairn Island in the United Kingdom and Revillagigedo Island in Mexico.