Five new years in one year
There is more than one new year. Follow farming, the moon, the sun and the stars from North Africa to the Pacific.
Follow it on the 3D globe5 stops on the route
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1Tizi Ouzou Amazigh New Year
Tizi Ouzou, Algeria
Around 12 January · Next: 12 Jan 2027
Yennayer, the Amazigh new year, opens the farming year. Families in Kabylie gather for a generous couscous supper and wish for a good harvest.
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2Beijing Spring Festival
Beijing, China
1st day of the first lunar month · Next: 6 Feb 2027 – 8 Feb 2027
Beijing's Spring Festival starts with the reunion dinner and staying up on New Year's Eve. Doors get couplets and the character fu, then come temple fairs and visits to the old altars.
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3Samarkand Nowruz
Samarkand, Uzbekistan
Spring equinox · Next: 21 Mar 2027
Nowruz begins the year at the spring equinox. In Samarkand women take turns stirring a cauldron of sumalak, a wheat-sprout pudding, through the night, while households clean and visit family.
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4Inti Raymi and Andean Sun Festival in Cusco
Cusco, Peru
24 June · Next: 24 Jun 2027
Around the southern winter solstice, Cusco welcomes the sun back with Inti Raymi. The Inca ceremony is restaged in the city and at Sacsayhuamán and is seen as the Andean new year.
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5Auckland Pasifika and Matariki Festival
Auckland, New Zealand
June–July, when the Pleiades rise
When the Matariki star cluster reappears before dawn in midwinter, Māori begin the new year: remembering those who died, gathering, sharing food and setting hopes for the year ahead.
How the route works
Open the route on MapDepth's 3D globe and it flies to each stop in turn, with the timeline set to that stop's month. Step through it yourself or let it play.
Open the route