Kiribati moved the International Date Line in 1995 so its eastern islands shared the same calendar day.
Kiribati is spread across a large area of the central Pacific Ocean. Before the change, the country's island groups could be on different sides of the date line, creating practical difficulties for government, travel, and communication. The adjustment placed the Line Islands, including Kiritimati, on the same side of the calendar as the rest of the country.
The date-line change did not involve moving a physical line across the ocean. The International Date Line is an agreed convention that generally follows the 180th meridian but bends around national borders and practical interests.
After the 1995 adjustment, Kiribati became widely known for being among the first places to enter a new calendar day. Later date-line changes elsewhere, including Samoa's 2011 shift, are sometimes confused with Kiribati's earlier decision.