Say “aloha,” and your mouth just naturally forms a smile. Aloha is a Hawaiian word with many meanings but, literally, it translates as love, affection, or kindness.
Hawaiians use it to say hello – and goodbye. Traditionally, to greet someone with aloha was to acknowledge the goodness in that person.
“Aloha” is how Hawaiians greet the 9 million tourists who visit their state each year. The visitors come to enjoy the ideal climate of the islands and to relax on the sandy beaches. They soak up the aloha spirit and experience the state’s tropical beauty.
The Hawaiian archipelago (ar-ki-PEL-i-go), or chain of islands, stretching some 1,500 miles across the Pacific Ocean, is farther removed from a continent than any other inhabited place on Earth. The chain is composed of 132 islands, reefs, and shoals. The eight major islands that make up the state of Hawai`i form a crescent less than 400 miles long. How were the islands formed? Who first settled them? What is each island like? Put on a Hawaiian aloha shirt, imagine a fragrant lei around your neck, and take a scenic tour of the Aloha State.
