Kiritimati is the Kiribati island famous for being among the first inhabited places to welcome each New Year.
Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, lies in the central Pacific and belongs to the island nation of Kiribati. Its location near the International Date Line places it among the earliest inhabited locations to enter a new calendar day, so it receives major attention during New Year's celebrations.
Kiribati moved the International Date Line around its eastern islands in 1994. The change aligned the country's islands on the same calendar day and made the Line Islands, including Kiritimati, one of the first areas to experience January 1. The island uses UTC+14, the world's most advanced standard time zone.
Kiritimati is not the same place as Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean, which belongs to Australia. Its name is the Kiribati pronunciation of “Christmas.” Because time-zone boundaries and daylight-saving rules can affect comparisons, “among the first” is more precise than claiming it is always the first place on Earth.