Kiribati: First to Celebrate New Year, Kiritimati Island Kicks Off Global Festivities

• Kiribati is the first country to celebrate New Year, located in the UTC+14 time zone.
• Specifically, Kiritimati Island (Christmas Island) welcomes January 1st before any other place.
• New Year celebrations in Kiribati feature fireworks, traditional dances, community feasts, and church prayers.
• In 1995, Kiribati shifted the International Date Line eastward, making it the first nation to celebrate the New Year.
• The global New Year celebration spans 26 hours across 38 time zones, with American Samoa among the last to celebrate.

Why It Matters: Discover which nation celebrates New Year first, revealing global time zone quirks.