Kiritimati is the Pacific island atoll widely identified as one of the first inhabited places to enter a new year.
Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is part of Kiribati and lies in the Line Islands. Its local time is UTC+14, the world's furthest-forward civil time zone. As a result, the island reaches January 1 before most other inhabited locations, making it a frequent subject of New Year's Eve reports.
Kiribati moved the International Date Line around its eastern islands in 1994. The change put the Line Islands on the same calendar day as the rest of the country, ending a situation in which different parts of Kiribati were separated by a date boundary. The adjustment also helped the country present itself as among the first to welcome a new year.
“Kiritimati” is pronounced roughly “Christmas,” reflecting the island's name in the Gilbertese language. It should not be confused with Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, which is an Australian territory.