January 1 – New Year. Despite the fact that the most magical holiday for our compatriots for the inhabitants of Kiribati is not such, the republic is a special place in this respect. Politicians around the world like to promise voters goodies, but one of Kiribati’s presidents has gone too far with his promises. In 1994, he guaranteed that if he led the country, the republic would become the place where the New Year holiday would come before anyone else on the planet. The politician did not turn out to be a populist, and after the elections he moved the demarcation line; now in a very small country there are three time zones, and in the easternmost region they say goodbye to the old year 14 hours earlier than in the UK.

March 8 – Women’s Day.

Good Friday. The day, which is not very drawn to the holiday (on Friday Christ was tortured and crucified), does not have a fixed date and is celebrated every year at different times. However, the dates are in the same time region.

Easter. Another, besides the biggest, Christian holiday. Like the previous one, it is not tied to a specific number.

Bright Monday. The day following Easter, which, of course, is also not fixed in the calendar.

April 7 – Health Day. Despite the secular nature of the holiday, its date also floats, it is set annually by the government of Kiribati. The reason for the “holiday” was the big problems in the health sector in the state.

July 12 – Independence Day. Among the national holidays, this is the most important. With the exception of independent natives, Kiribati has long suffered from the influence of Great Britain, in whose sphere of interests the islands fell in the 19th century. By the beginning of the Second World War, almost the entire territory of Kiribati was controlled by the British. Forty years later, in 1979, the colony finally gained its long-awaited independence. The event is opened by the president of the republic, then a parade and other interesting things take place at the capital’s stadium.

July 15 – Gospel Day. The date is approximate, the event is celebrated on one of the days located on the calendar not far from the previous, most important, event. Today, the majority of the population of the republic adheres to the Christian faith, but before the missionaries came to the islands, the religion traditional for the natives was widespread here. On this day, Protestants and Catholics symbolically unite and hold joint events and services.

The first Monday of August is Youth Day. The main task of all events held on this day is to promote a healthy lifestyle among the younger generation.

October 9 – Education Day. Until 1965, Kiribati did not have a full-fledged educational system. After gaining independence, the republic made a huge leap in this direction.

December 10 – Human Rights Day. In fact, the date can be freely moved back/forward a day in order to be closer to the weekend.

December 25 – Christmas.

December 26 is Box Day. In Russian, this event has established itself as the Day of Gifts, but the essence of this does not change – this is the day of presents that local residents give to each other, packing them in boxes.