| The first country in the world to greet the New | | | | over the islands booming as their kerosene |
| Year, each and every year, is Tonga in the South | | | | contents are lit. The boys will try hard to outdo |
| Pacific. That is because it lies very close to the | | | | each other in this cannon marathon. It sounds like |
| 180th parallel (12 hours ahead of Greenwich). It | | | | a war is going on in the villages with all the |
| sits directly on the International Dateline. | | | | cannons going off. |
| Tongans value their relationship with God and | | | | After greeting all the relatives, and a long nap, |
| others. The whole first week of the New Year is | | | | most everyone heads for the beach. January 1st |
| called Uike Lotu (prayer week). Every day church | | | | is during the hottest time of the year in Tonga, |
| congregations meet and pray morning and | | | | unlike the white snowy Christmases others are |
| evening, and in between they feast together. | | | | used to. The whole family will go to the beach |
| Bands all over the island take their instruments, | | | | and have a swim. Food for the New Year is |
| sometimes-homemade banjos, bass and guitars, | | | | usually baked in an umu (underground oven), and |
| and go from home to home hoping for some | | | | may include lu pulu (beef, onion and coconut milk |
| provisions in exchange for their music. | | | | wrapped in taro leaves), root crops like taro, |
| The people of Tonga take the New Year very | | | | kumala (sweet potato) manioke (tapioca), and |
| seriously. When we lived in Tonga, at 12:01 the | | | | seafood. The men fix the umu, and every one |
| first minute of the New Year, people would start | | | | enjoys it. |
| walking, trying to be the first to greet their | | | | Not only the villagers celebrate the coming of the |
| relatives. You could see people walking all over the | | | | New Year. On January 1, 2009 members of the |
| paths and roads looking for their kin. When they | | | | royal family as well as cabinet ministers and |
| would meet, which may be halfway between their | | | | distinguished guests received an audience with his |
| homes, they would embrace and uma (kiss). Then | | | | Majesty King George Tupou V shortly after |
| they would sit down and have some cookies and | | | | midnight. Even the monarch tries to strengthen his |
| Milo before leaving to find other relatives. It was a | | | | relationships during the new years celebration. |
| time of meeting, praying and feasting. The older | | | | Truly, the people of Tonga are proud that time |
| people would talk and reminisce about the old | | | | begins in their country. Their monarch, Taufa'ahau |
| times and express their gratitude for being able to | | | | Tupou IV fought for them to have this distinction |
| make it to the New Year. | | | | so they would be the first in the world to offer |
| The young men would construct fana pitu | | | | up their prayers in the New Year. They even |
| (bamboo cannons) and you could hear them all | | | | have a hotel called the International Dateline Hotel. |