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CHRISTMAS ISLAND

October 19, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

London, Kiribati

Christmas Island (crazy-Frankenstein.com)

Christmas Island (crazy-Frankenstein.com)

“How’d ya like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island?  How’d ya like to spend the holiday away across the sea?  How’d ya like to spend Christmas on Christmas Island?  How’d ya like to hang your stocking on a great big coconut tree?”  So asks lyracist Lyle Moraine and singer Jimmy Buffet in the song Christmas Island.  It is uncertain exactly which Christmas Island they were referring to – the Australian island territory off the coast of Java in the Indian Ocean, or the small coral island about a thousand miles south of Hawaii.

However, the Christmas Island that is most prevelant in the popular imagination, and the one that Jimmy Buffet was probably alluding to, is the latter.  Also known as Kiritimati, it was this island that was famously discovered by the intrepid explorer Captain Cook on Christmas Eve in 1777.  Uninhabited at the time of its discovery, possession of Kiritimati passed through a succession of colonial powers, who used it for a variety of purposes, including as a coconut plantation and as a naval base.

Christmas Island (wikipedia.com)

Christmas Island (wikipedia.com)

Christmas Island is a sparsely inhabited natural wonder.  It is part of the volcanic group known as the Line Islands, the largest coral atoll in the world, and is home to a diverse variety of flora and fauna.  Christmas Island remains well off the beaten path for most tourists during the holidays.  However, every year there are dedicated pilgrims who make the trek to this tiny island paradise in this remote corner of the world, as it does boast one major claim to holiday fame: Christmas Island is the first populated place on Earth to usher in the New Year, a fact that brought the island briefly into the world spotlight on the first day of 2000.

Christmas Island is the largest island in Kiribati, but its location nearly twelve-hundred miles south of Honolulu makes it the second-most remote and difficult to reach place on Earth, after the North Pole, to spend Christmas.  Nevertheless the local tourism board is making every effort to encourage intrepid travelers to come to spend the holiday week, extolling both its providencial name and its New Year’s importance to bring in the crowds.  Web: www.kiribatitourism.gov.ki (official tourism website of Kiribati)

Filed Under: Christmas Tagged With: Australia/Pacific

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About Howard Kramer

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is a culmination of years of his work and passion.

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Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

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Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

Contact Us

Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

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