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They travelled by bus all over Auckland, singing hymns and celebrating the birth of the baby Jesus.
Like the three wise men of the Bible, 19 Samoan Methodist choirs began their journey on Christmas Eve and went through to the early hours of Christmas Day.
Each choir of up to 100 men, women and children was dressed in white. Women wore crocheted headgear and lace shawls. Some men improvised by wrapping shirts around their heads.
After receiving a blessing from their local pastor, each choir went on a circuit to the homes of other pastors all over the city.
The ritual has not changed since the first Samoan Methodist Church opened in 1964 at Grey Lynn. Each choir gathers in front of the pastor to deliver two or more hymns in uplifting Pacific harmony, singing in Samoan or English, or both languages.
After the songs, the pastor delivers a prayer and a blessing. Then it is back on the bus for the next destination.
The pastor at Grey Lynn, the Rev Ioane Tuupo, said it was how the Samoan Methodist Church celebrated the newborn baby.
"It's a message of joy ... one of the biggest days in our year," he said.
The choirs travelled, sang and prayed through the night until about 6am on Christmas Day. Then the hundreds of weary singers went to church.
