Prayer and song are central to the celebration. Many reflect on the year with their families. For Lesa Tagaloa, a 24-year-old Samoa native, some 35 family members will gather in her Bayview-Hunters ...

in which the eponymous native Samoan kid lies in the shallow surf, looking up at his beloved Fa’angase as she eats little fish and basks in his teenage adoration. It’s one of those peerless ...