White Sunday, (in the

Samoan language Samoan ( or ; ) is a Polynesian language spoken by Samoans of the Samoan Islands. Administratively, the islands are split between the sovereign country of Samoa and the United States territory of American Samoa. It is an official language, alon ...

''Lotu Tamaiti'', literally "Children's Service"), is a national holiday in

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

falling on the second

Sunday Sunday is the day of the week between Saturday and Monday. In most Western countries, Sunday is a day of rest and a part of the weekend. It is often considered the first day of the week. For most observant adherents of Christianity, Sunday ...

of October, with the Monday following a public holiday. It is also celebrated in

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...

Tokelau Tokelau (; ; known previously as the Union Islands, and, until 1976, known officially as the Tokelau Islands) is a dependent territory of New Zealand in the southern Pacific Ocean. It consists of three tropical coral atolls: Atafu, Nukunonu, a ...

and

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

. The day is for parents and communities to acknowledge and celebrate

childhood A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

by hosting special programs during church services which include scriptural recitations, biblical story reenactments, and creative dance performances. Children receive gifts (often new clothing and/or school supplies) on White Sunday and are allowed privileges normally reserved for elders, such as being the first to be served food at family meal time.

Observance

On White Sunday, Samoan women and children dress completely in white clothing. Some of them trim the clothes with the other two colours of the

Samoan flag The flag of Samoa ( Samoan: ''fu‘a o Sāmoa'') was first adopted from 24 February 1949, for UN Trusteeships, and continuously applied for the state's independence on 1 January 1962. It consists of a red field with a blue rectangle in the cant ...

, red and blue. Men will wear white shirts with either white slacks or the traditional '''ie'' ''faitaga'' form of the

lavalava A lavalava, also known as an ''ie'', short for 'ie lavalava, is an article of daily clothing traditionally worn by Polynesians and other Oceanic peoples. It consists of a single rectangular cloth worn similarly to a wraparound skirt or kilt. The ...

. If a lavalava is worn it need not be white.

Background

Some believe White Sunday to be a Christian adaptation of an indigenous pre-contact celebration of certain planting and harvesting seasons. Others assert that the holiday coincides with a family celebration that became widespread in the 1920s in commemoration of Samoans who succumbed to the influenza epidemic of 1919; this epidemic, introduced through the ambivalence of the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

colonial administration Colonial or The Colonial may refer to: * Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology) Architecture * American colonial architecture * French Colonial * Spanish Colonial architecture Automobiles * Colonial (1920 au ...

, took the lives of a fifth to a quarter of the Samoan population, many of them children. White Sunday is a time to come together with brothers, sisters and even cousins to recite something together. It is a tradition in all the Protestant churches. White Sunday (or Children's Sunday) was bought to Samoa in the nineteenth century by the

London Missionary Society The London Missionary Society was an interdenominational evangelical missionary society formed in England in 1795 at the instigation of Welsh Congregationalist minister Edward Williams. It was largely Reformed in outlook, with Congregational miss ...

(LMS). During its annual Conference in May 1898 it was resolved to set up a special Sunday for children, and so the first such White Sunday was held on the last Sunday of June the same year 1898, which was celebrated in all the LMS churches in Samoa. During the International Sunday School Conference held in Rome in February 1909, it was resolved to make the third Sunday of October the International Children's Sunday, and so the Samoan White Sunday was changed from June to the third Sunday of October. Later on, this day was changed to the second Sunday of October,(as Mothers' Day is on the second Sunday in May and Fathers' Day is on the second Sunday in August). The centenary of White Sunday was celebrated in 1998 not only by

Congregational Christian Church of Samoa The Congregational Christian Church Samoa (CCCS) is an international evangelical Christian Church originally established in Samoa by missionaries of the London Missionary Society. History CCCS traces its beginnings to the arrival in 1830 of ...

(CCCS) churches in Samoa but also in CCCS churches in USA, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand and American Samoa. Today White Sunday is observed and celebrated by all Christian Churches in Samoa. For CCCS churches, most children are baptised on White Sunday. A special service is held on Saturday evening to prepare everyone - minister, children, parents and families - for White Sunday.

Cultural references

New Zealand hip-hop artist

Mareko Mark Sagapolutele (born 15 June 1981), best known by his stage name Mareko, is a New Zealand rapper and hip hop artist of Samoan descent from South Auckland. Career Mareko's career began as a member of the Deceptikonz, a South Auckland rap c ...

has released an album named after White Sunday.

References

{{reflist Events in Samoa Religion in Samoa Holidays and observances by scheduling (nth weekday of the month) October observances May observances Sunday observances