Kiritimati is often described as the first inhabited place to welcome the New Year because it uses UTC+14.
Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is part of Kiribati in the central Pacific Ocean. Its name is the Gilbertese rendering of “Christmas,” reflecting the language’s sound system. The island lies in the Line Islands, whose clocks are set far ahead of Coordinated Universal Time.
Kiribati moved the International Date Line around its eastern islands in 1994, bringing the country’s territory onto the same calendar day. Since then, the Line Islands have been among the earliest places on Earth to reach each new date. Kiritimati’s time zone is commonly identified as Line Islands Time, or UTC+14.
“First” depends on the definition being used. Kiritimati is an inhabited island and a frequent answer in New Year coverage, but the exact order of celebrations also involves other Line Islands, ships, and uninhabited locations. The claim refers to civil time, not sunrise or a universal physical boundary.