15 October 2007, Sunday
Pago Pago, American Samoa
White Sunday
For months the dozens and dozens of Sewing Shops on the island have been busting the machines to make the new clothes for the island’s participants in White Sunday. We are told it is the biggest event of the year, bigger than Christmas. The local newspapers have been promoting the event for weeks and the traffic jams to get the shopping malls were back to back from one side of the island to the other.
White Sunday is a holiday to honor the children of the island. All the children are dressed in their “Sunday best”, white attire and given the day to be first to receive their food, presents, and run of the day. Every other day, they are not revered with honor and are last to receive their food and attention. We were warmly welcomed to join in White Sunday. Outsiders tell us that the tradition is waning but those that still participate take it very seriously.
To experience the event for ourselves, we joined in a Christian church service in central town of Fagatogo. There are many denominations of Christianity on the island, possibly a church every 500’ along the loop road.
Like many Polynesian Church services, it was not a somber service; instead it was lively, and full of joyous singing. Almost everyone, adult and child were dressed in white (so were we). Women with gorgeous lace bonnets and hats keep themselves cool with handmade banana leave fans. Small children dressed in white suits and lacy dresses and white shoes were adorable. For White Sunday, the children ran the show with the Pastor watching from the back of the podium. The children sang and danced to a familiar repertoire of the 70’s tunes: Captain & Tenile, MoTown Soul and other Classic Oldies. Skits from the Bible were performed and throughout the event, people strolled up and down the aisles, contributing to the church fund. Although long (over two hours), it was a memorable experience, even if by the end, we were all a bit fidgety.
After the service, the Samoans all retreated to their homes to continue their celebration and their traditional Sunday family gathering. We returned to Encanto. Our Sunday menu replicated the traditional Samoan favorite Sunday family meal on these islands—Corned Beef and Cabbage. Yup, you can buy Corned Beef in gigantic cans or vacuumed sealed bags from the corn feed center of Nebraska. No longer are we enjoying the lamb of New Zealand, now we are in the land of frozen meats and especially, Corned Beef.