Phil Cicio, an electrician at Artkraft Strauss Sign Corporation, checks the lights on the ball that will drop in New York's Times Square on New Year's Eve, at the company's warehouse in New York, Dec. 26, 1991.  The ball weighs 200 pounds, is six feet in diameter and contains 180 white outdoor lamps.  The tradition dates back to 1907 when the first ball was lowered from the top of One Times Square, then the New York Times building.
The ball drop will finally end 2020. Here's how the tradition started.
01:56 - Source: CNN
CNN  — 

People around the world are beginning to wave goodbye to 2021 and welcome 2022.

The Pacific Island nations of Tonga, Samoa and Kiribati are the first to see the new year – when it is still 5 a.m. on December 31 on the East Coast of the United States and 11 a.m. UTC (Coordinated Universal Time, the global standard). New Zealand is next, an hour later.

American Samoa, just 101 miles from Samoa but in an entirely different timezone, must wait a full day before seeing in 2021.

There are 39 different local times in use – including two which are more than 12 hours ahead of UTC – which means it takes 26 hours for the entire world to enter the New Year.

So, if you really, really, really love to hum “Auld Lang Syne,” the list below will get you in the spirit – over and over and over again.

Here’s when the world has been and will be ringing in the New Year, relative to East Coast time.

Friday, December 31, 2021

5 a.m. ET Samoa, Tonga and Christmas Island/Kiribati

5:15 a.m. Chatham Islands/New Zealand

6 a.m. New Zealand (with a few exceptions) and five more locations/islands

A light show from the Skytower and harbour bridge during New Year's Eve celebrations in Auckland, New Zealand. The light show named "Auckland Is Calling" replaces the normal fireworks due to government Covid-19 restrictions but signifies a welcome to visitors from New Zealand and eventually the world to the region.

7 a.m. Small region of Russia and seven more locations

8 a.m. Much of Australia and seven more (including Melbourne and Sydney)

Fireworks light up the sky over Sydney Harbour as the clock strikes midnight on January 1, 2022 in Sydney, Australia.

8:30 a.m. Small region of Australia (including Adelaide)

9 a.m. Queensland/Australia and six more (including Brisbane)

9:30 a.m. Northern Territory/Australia (including Alice Springs)

10 a.m. Japan, South Korea and four more

10:15 a.m. Western Australia/Australia

11 a.m. China, Philippines and 10 more

People have their dinner at a restaurant as a screen broadcasts Chinese President Xi Jinping delivering his New Year speech in Beijing on December 31, 2021.

Noon Much of Indonesia, Thailand and seven more

12:30 p.m. Myanmar and Cocos Islands

1 p.m. Bangladesh and six more

1:15 p.m. Nepal

1:30 p.m. India and Sri Lanka

Sikh devotees take a dip in the holy Sarovar (water tank) during the last sunset of 2021 on the eve of New Year 2022, at the Sikh shrine Golden Temple in Amritsar on December 31, 2021.

2 p.m. Pakistan and eight more

2:30 p.m. Afghanistan

3 p.m. Azerbaijan and eight more

3:30 p.m. Iran

4 p.m. Moscow/Russia and 22 more

5 p.m. Greece and 31 more (including Egypt, South Africa and Romania)

6 p.m. Germany and 45 more (including Algeria, Italy, Belgium and France)

7 p.m. United Kingdom and 24 more (including Portugal and Iceland)

8 p.m. Cabo Verde and two more

9 p.m. Regions of Brazil and South Georgia/Sandwich Islands

10 p.m. Most of Brazil, Angetina and nine more

10:30 p.m. Newfoundland and Labrador/Canada

11 p.m. Some regions of Canada and 28 more

Saturday, January 1, 2022

Midnight US (East Coast) and Cuba

1 a.m. US (Central), Mexico and nine more

2 a.m. US (Mountain) and two more

3 a.m. US (Pacific) and four more

4 a.m. US (Alaska) and regions of French Polynesia

4:30 a.m. Marquesas Islands/French Polynesia

5 a.m. US (Hawaii) and two more

6 a.m. American Samoa and two more

7 a.m. Much of US minor outlying islands (unincorporated US territories in the Pacific)