FoxTrot by Bill Amend for December 31, 2023

大家现年快乐

Celebrating the New Year in other time zones lets you decide to go to bed when it’s New Year in Greenland.

Will get interesting when they reach those 1/2 hour time zones and that 15 minute one.

correction for my previous comment: 大家新年快乐

Today’s classic FoxTrot Sunday strip:

https://www.gocomics.Com/foxtrot/2002/12/29

Happy New Year!

They’re speaking Chinese (Peter) and Malay (Jason), in case anyone was curious.

…Bill, come on. You already DID this one when Roger got Jason a Globemaster wristwatch for Christmas.

Frohes Neues Jahr! (German, for those of you who are wondering)

As a Chinese dude, I appreciate correct pinyin including tone markers

May all y’all’s celebration of the arbitrary point in time be happy and joyful. And safe both during and after.

And if you choose to imbibe significant amounts of spirituous liquors, remember TWO things:

Let someone else drive you home (someone sober). This is for everyone’s benefit.

Drink a big glass of water before sleeping… and again when you get up to drain the bladder. This is for your benefit… unless you’re too drunk to be able to wake up to pee, in which case, maybe don’t.

Man, it’s just as well that this an American comic, not British. Cider here means something rather more alcoholic…

Gleðilegt ár (in about 14 and a half hours)

Well, the New Year began on January 1, as years have been wont to do since 1752. And I’m asking myself, why? Okay, the Julian calendar needed to be revised and updated. It happens. But we kept the names (October-December = months 8, 9, 10 according to their names, but we call them months 10, 11, and 12). Don’t give me that Numa Pompilius nonsense. No evidence for the Romans using January until hundreds of years after old Numie. And after the fall of the western Roman Empire January was out on its anthropomorphic ear and we were back to the Spring Equinox. So who were the lobbyists for moving it to January? Who did they bribe?

We usually celebrate with sparkling grape (I’m allergic to apples). However, this year, since both of our daughters are adults, we’re actually having champagne. We still picked up a bottle of sparkling grape because our younger daughter doesn’t really like alcohol.

Guam is where America’s day begins, so in one more hour, happy new year (they are 15 hours ahead of eastern time.

Appyha Ewna earya. (early, I know. I wanted to practice my Pig Latin)

I remember “celebrating” each time zone’s reaching midnight back in 1999, as they each rolled into 2000.

One thing hasn’t changed over the years; the strip still takes place in the Central time zone (somewhere near Chicago, I think), although originally, it may have been closer to San Francisco. (At 10 AM, it’s midnight in GMT+8, so 14 hours later, it is midnight where they are, which is GMT-6.)

Nice when Peter and Jason get along.

Hee, hee, that’s actually kind of a fun idea. Might have to keep that in mind for a future New Year’s celebration (already got this year’s planned out).

You’re a month early for Tet.

HIPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!

I checked with a friend in Tasmania…the world didn’t come to an end in 2024. It’s already next year there. He lives in the future, but he refuses to give me stock tips.

Blwyddyn Newydd yn hapus iawn iawn!

Your point?

I had to do a double take because I thought the parents were just letting their children drink alcohol

Be grateful it’s non-alcoholic apple cider. Until they need the bathroom that is. Happy New Year.

สวัสดีปีใหม่ (Sawatdee pi mai)

What language is Jason speaking in panel 1?

They should be shooting off fireworks for every time zone

¡Feliz Año Nuevo! from Mexico City, just 12 1/2 hours early.

That means it’s been the New Year in Wodonga for 5 hours!

My step mom is Danish, one of her friends was yelling “Godt nytår” which sounds like “Gt New Door!” To which my charming dad replied, “Got new back porch too!”

Time travel.

Don’t buy and sell stocks while drinking that apple stuff. Remember, in cider trading is illegal.

So when did Peter become such a big nerd?

This is great!

It’s always tomorrow somewhere.

So? It’s not alchoholic.

Love watching those fireworks over the Sydney opera house

This is really nice!

You can’t drink all day unless you start early in the morning. Happy New Year !

שתהיה לך שנה טובה