James Cook Reaches the Pacific Atoll That Became Christmas Island

On December 24, 1777, during his third Pacific voyage, Captain James Cook and his expedition sighted a low coral island shortly after daybreak. Their visit over the Christmas holiday inspired the name Christmas Island. Known today as Kiritimati, the atoll belongs to the Republic of Kiribati in the central Pacific Ocean.

Land on the Horizon

Cook’s ships, Resolution and Discovery, were sailing north after leaving the Society Islands. The expedition was heading towards the northwest coast of North America to investigate the possibility of a Northwest Passage.

The land they encountered offered a very different landscape from the mountainous islands they had recently visited. Cook described low ground enclosing an expanse of seawater, with only a few coconut trees visible. He decided to anchor, hoping the island would provide turtles for the ships’ provisions.

Christmas in the Pacific

The following day brought Christmas celebrations aboard the expedition. Accounts from the voyage describe feasting and the welcome news that men from Discovery had found turtles ashore. Fishing and turtle-catching parties helped replenish supplies during the stop.

Cook’s seasonal name endured. The spelling Kiritimati represents the English word “Christmas” in the Kiribati language, where the letter combination “ti” is pronounced like “s”.

An Island with an Earlier History

Although Cook found the atoll uninhabited, his arrival was not the beginning of its human story. Archaeological evidence shows that Polynesian people had occupied Kiritimati before the European expedition reached it.

Describing the event as Cook’s arrival and naming of Christmas Island therefore gives a fuller picture than treating it as the discovery of a place previously unknown to humanity.

A Distinctive Atoll and an Enduring Name

Kiritimati forms part of the northern Line Islands and is noted for having the greatest land area of any coral atoll. Its lagoons, reefs and seabird habitats give it significance far beyond its connection with Cook.

It is also a different place from Australia’s Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. In the Pacific, the name remains a reminder of an expedition that encountered land on Christmas Eve more than two centuries ago.