It’s a New Year!

The world welcomed a new year with fi reworks, parties and revelry at the beginning of this month. For the people of Samoa, there was a big celebration one day earlier. The country jumped a day into the future!

The people of Samoa and nearby Tokelau ended the day Thursday, Dec. 29, and moved right into Saturday, Dec. 31. Sirens wailed, applause rang out and there was great jubilation as Samoans skipped Friday and the country moved to the other side of the International Date Line.

The International Date Line is an imaginary line that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole. It goes through the Pacifi c at roughly the 180-degree line of longitude. It marks the place where one calendar day ends and the next one begins.

Have you ever called relatives in another part of the country and had to fi gure out what time it was where they live? Imagine living on Samoa and calling to sing “Happy Birthday” to a friend in New Zealand. You would need to call the day before! But not any more.

In June, the Samoan government decided to move the country west of the International Date Line. They agreed to bypass Dec. 30 in order to make the change. This shift moves Samoa to the same day as nearby New Zealand and Australia. Many Samoans have emigrated to New Zealand, and Samoa does a lot of business with New Zealand, Australia and China—all countries that used to be almost a full day ahead of Samoa.

Samoa is made up of two large islands, Upolu and Savai’I, and seven smaller islands. It is located about halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand in the South Pacifi c. These islands used to be known as Western Samoa. Islands to the east became U.S. territories in 1904, and are now known as American Samoa (which remains east of the Date Line). Western Samoa changed its constitution and became Samoa in 1997.

The Samoan language is believed to be the oldest form of Polynesian speech still used. Samoans, at home and abroad, value their traditions and heritage.