When the Republic of Moldova enters the last 100 meters of the preparations for New Year’s Eve, the fireworks in other parts of the world announce the first moments of 2020 already. The inhabitants of Samoa and Kiribati, insular countries in the Pacific Ocean, will celebrate the coming of the New Year the first. At 1pm Moldova’s time, the New Year will be celebrated in New Zealand, then in Australia, Japan and Hong Kong. The U.S. is the last to enter the New Year. There are different New Year’s customs and traditions in the countries of the world, IPN reports.

In Moldova, as in Romania, the people on New Year’s Eve make wishes as they say these will definitely come true. The New Year is met with a lot of noise so as to drive evil away. The people open a sparkling wine on the night between years so as to have a more prosperous year. The young people set off fireworks.

In Greece, they prepare the traditional dish called vassilopitta and put money inside it. The person who finds the money will be full of joy throughout the year. This tradition was borrowed by some of the regions in Romania.

Eating 12 grapes at midnight on New Year's Eve is both a tradition and a superstition in Spain. Rare is the Spaniard who will risk poisoning their fate for the coming year by skipping the grapes, one for each stroke of midnight.

Though apple and honey can be eaten throughout the holidays, they are almost always eaten together on the first night of Rosh Hashanah. Jews dip apple slices into honey and say a prayer asking God for a sweet New Year.

In Japan, New Year or Oshogatsu is a symbol of renewal. Oshogatsu is a time for peace and resolution. Japanese people don't go to work on New Year's Day. They rest and celebrate the holiday with the family. They go to temples to pray for a prosperous and healthy new year. The first visit to the temple is called "Hatsu Mohde," which means the first visit.

In Russia, the residents of Kamchatka and Chukotka celebrate New Year the first, while those from Kaliningrad the last. The coming of the New Year and the actual beginning of the celebration is marked by the Kremlin Clock striking twelve, i.e. midnight Moscow Time. Some go to the Russian sauna on December 31^.

In China, the date of New Year is related to the moon. In the Gregorian calendar, the Lunar New Year begins at the new moon that falls between 21 January and 20 February. To determine whether a year has an intercalary month, one only needs to check whether Chinese New Year is within the month of January. In 2020, the Chinese New Year starts on January 25.