Churches in the territory will ring in the new year with prayer services thanking God for His love and protection this year and seeking the same for the year ahead.
A tradition which was started when the Methodist Church was first established in the Samoan islands in the 1800’s will be observed at church services this evening.
Moli or lights represent the offerings of church members.
Families in the parish are grouped in threes or fours to provide a moli, which is a tree that is fully laden with all sorts of food items, material, housewares, bedding and money.
According to Reverend Faauuga Folauga of the Ave ole Fetuao Church in Fagaima, the tradition of lights goes together with the annual church offerings or “faamati”, when parishioners make major money donations to the church.
The lights are distributed at the end of the New Year’s eve service to special guests in attendance, the elderly and to church groups like the women’s fellowship, the youth, choir and Sunday school.
In some churches, the lights are given to non-Methodists who are economically disadvantaged.
For the New Year’s eve church service, Reverend Faauuga says he will be presenting a summary of developments in his congregation.
The service will begin at 10pm and is timed to end just when the clock strikes 12 midnight.
The Reverend will give the number of births and deaths in his parish in the past year and talk about the spiritual growth of church members.
Asked whether he has seen any sign of church offerings taking a dive, he said, “Far from it.”
He added, “While families may be experiencing hardships, they are continuing to give generously to the church because of their faith.”
The Congregational Christian Church of American Samoa will also hold New Year’s eve services, as will the Catholic Church and other mainline churches throughout the territory.
The first of the year is a special day for the Catholic Church devoted to the Solemnity of Mother Mary.
It is a holy day of obligation for Catholics which means that they must attend Mass on the first day of the year.
The Holy Family Cathedral at Fatuoaiga will have two Masses tonight – the English Mass is at 7:30pm and the Samoan Mass is at 9:30pm.
Then tomorrow the Mass for New Year is at 8:30am.
