New Year's Eve

Nearly New Year on the Chatham Islands east of New Zealand. With less than an hour left to go, Chatham Islanders are preparing to go ballistic. Here are a few interesting facts and figures about New Year.

The advent of New Year's Day is determined by the International Date Line, an imaginary line on the Earth that separates two consecutive calendars. The date in the Eastern hemisphere, to the left of the line, is always one day ahead of the date in the western hemisphere.

In theory the International Date Line could be set anywhere in the world but it is widely accepted that it lies 180 degrees away from the defining meridian that goes through Greenwich in England. The area through which the International Date Line runs is mainly covered empty ocean, but it does zig and zag around certain areas of land.

First place in the world to see 2010 will be:

Kiribati, officially the Republic of Kiribati also known as Christmas Island is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. It is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island straddling the equator, and bordering the International Date Line to the east.

Did you know that at the stroke of midnight in Austria, people start to dance a waltz usually to that well known tune, The Blue Danube.

In the Ukraine, New Year is seen as a preperation event before the Eastern Orthodox Christmas which takes place on 7th January. So Ukraine children can expect to meet Ded Moroz on New Year's Eve, the east European version of Santa.

In Spain, New Year revellers will eat 12 grapes, one for each chime of the clcok Casa de Correos clock in Madrid. A similar ritual takes place across large sections of Spanish speaking South America.

In Australia some 2 million people gather around Sydney Harbour to watch one of the world's most incredible firework displays which takes place from the Sydney bridge.

Festivities in Scotland started on 28th December and will go on until the 2nd January with New Year sounded by cannon fire from Edinburgh castle at midnight tonight.

In Venezuala, people wanting romance in 2010 are encouraged to wear red underwear on New Year's Eve.

Saucy Italians also wear red underwear on New Year's Eve which is celebrated with a family dinner of lentils and sausage meat. Italians also have a ritual of dropping things they don't want out of their windows on New Year's Eve.

In Japan, Buddhist temples ring their bells 108 times at midnight, a meditational ritual which helps people to clear their minds for the New Year.

Every New Year's Eve in Sweden there is a showing on TV of the old West German cult classic Dinner for One with Freddie Frinton.