Cook Islands Gospel Day: October 23, 2009
Cook Islands celebrates Gospel Day as a national holiday.
On October 25 on the Cook Island, Gospel Day commemorates the arrival of Christianity to the islands, and the celebration is full of colorful costumes and singing. The islanders manage the day with festive and animated holiday flair.
Cook Islands Gospel Day History
In 1773 and 1777, British navigator Captain James Cook arrived and named the islands the Hervey Islands. However, in the 1820s the name “Cook Islands”, in honor of Cook, appeared on a Russian naval chart.
In 1813, a missionary named John Williams made the first official sighting of the island of Rarotonga. The following year was the first recorded landing on Rarotonga by Europeans.
It was in 1821 on the island of Aitutaki when the people of Cook Islands began converting to Christianity and, with only a few stumbling blocks, Christianity spread throughout the islands. The success of the conversion was due to the faithful resolve of Reverend John Williams of the London Missionary Society.
Cook Islands Gospel Day Traditions, Customs and Activities
The arrival of Christianity to the Cook Islands is celebrated on many of the islands with Gospel Days celebrations. These celebrations include re-enactments of the arrival of the first Christians and re-tellinga of bible stories. These detailed outdoor plays are very entertaining and original, yet they are melodramatic and funny most of the time.
The Christian churches on the Cook Islands get together on Gospel Day to compete with one another in highly spirited but friendly Gospel day pageants. In preparation for Gospel Day, a great deal of effort is spent making costumes and props, constructing sets, and writing scripts.
