Regional/Cultural Day
Aso o Tino Mavae
The anniversary of Samoa's independence from New Zealand on June 1, 1962. AHA!: Samoa was the first Pacific island nation to achieve independence : and one of the few to do so without a war. But the path wasn't peaceful: in 1929, the Mau movement's peaceful protest in Apia was fired upon by New Zealand police, killing the paramount chief Tupua Tamasese Lealofi III, whose last words were: "My blood has been spilt for Samoa." He died with a bullet in his chest, still holding his arms out to protect his people. His dying words are on Samoa's national monument. Samoa's flag (red, white, and blue with the Southern Cross) is raised at sunrise, and the prime minister addresses the nation.