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New Year’s Day 2025, 2026 and 2027

New Year’s Day is the first day of the calendar year and is celebrated on 1 January each year, with the day following New Year’s Day also a holiday. When one or both of these holidays fall on the weekend, they may be replaced on subsequent weekdays dependent on your employment hours.

Year	Date	Day	Holiday
2025	1 Jan	Wed	New Year's Day
	2 Jan	Thu	Day after New Year's Day
2026	1 Jan	Thu	New Year's Day
	2 Jan	Fri	Day after New Year's Day
2027	1 Jan	Fri	New Year's Day
	2 Jan	Sat	Day after New Year's Day
	4 Jan	Mon	New Year Holiday
Please scroll down to end of page for previous years' dates.

With a longitude of 174 degrees, New Zealand is one of the first nations to see in the New Year – it’s not until 9pm in Wellington that the people in Los Angeles see in their New Year.

As is the case around the world, New Year’s Eve celebrations on the night of 31 December welcome in the New Year. Families, sports’ groups, work colleagues and friends countdown to midnight then party longer. Auckland, Wellington and some major towns have firework displays at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

At Waimea, a music party runs from midday on 31 December to midday 2 January – with very strict rules for entry. Several other outdoor ‘under the stars’ music festivals also run in various locations around New Zealand.

But, after the celebrations, most people sleep late then start the first day of the New Year quietly before they go to events like the Waihi Beach Centennial New Years’ Day Beach Sports or the Big Brunch at Rotorua.

Generally New Zealanders love their outdoor lifestyles and, if the first day of the year brings good weather, then picnicking and barbecues are the menu guide of the day. The average temperature for Auckland in January is 25C and, for Christchurch, 22C but these can climb to the mid to low-30’s. This usually makes for perfect weather for family gatherings along the clean beaches and waterways of New Zealand or for yachting in Auckland Harbour for those who can.

Previous Years

Year	Date	Day	Holiday
2024	1 Jan	Mon	New Year's Day
	2 Jan	Tue	Day after New Year's Day
2023	1 Jan	Sun	New Year's Day
	2 Jan	Mon	Day after New Year's Day
	3 Jan	Tue	New Year Holiday