The Shetland Islands are considered to be the most remote islands in Great Britain but there's one island that stands out among the rest. The island of Foula is a mysterious and isolated island in the British isles that's inhabited by about 30 people and they appear to be celebrating the new year two weeks after the rest of the world.
According to the Mirror, the island of Foula will celebrate the New Year on January 13th which is nearly two weeks after January 1st. In fact, they already celebrated Christmas on January 6th which is about two weeks away from the usual celebration date of December 25th.
The reason why it's left out from the rest of the world is because the inhabitants follow an ancient calendar. Great Britain, along with other countries, adopted the Gregorian calendar when it was introduced in October 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII. Meanwhile, Foula still followed the old Julian calendar.
The change advanced Great Britain's calendar 13 days ahead although it moved down to 12 when Foula didn't have a leap year during the 1900s. This is the reason why the people of Foula celebrates Christmas and New Year 12 days after the rest of Great Britain celebrates it.
As isolated as it is, the island has been inhabited by people for the last 5000 years. The Norse people were the ones who conquered the island in the 9th century but the Scots took over in the 15th century. But according to BBC, the private island is now owned by the Holbourn family.
The island is actually connected to the rest of the world today. It has a functioning school, sing-along house, internet, electricity, TV and an air-strip for planes. There are flights four days a week so it's actually a reachable place for tourists.
The reason why tourists come by is to experience the solitude life in Foula. But aside from that, bird-watching is also an activity that you can do here because of the big seabird population in the area.
An island that celebrates Christmas and New Year but still has an internet connection is definitely interesting. It's something that should be on every traveler's bucket list.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
