Days of enjoyment to which everyone cheers"
At least it is if you prescribe to Britpopsters Blur's view of the world. But it's not that accurate from an Aotearoa point of view. Let's try that again with an NZ orientated eye....
"Public holidays come twelve times a year
Days of enjoyment to which most people cheer"
There that's much better.
I know what you're thinking. Twelve 'bank' holidays? How do you cope? In all fairness it was eleven, which is generous by most people's standards, but another one was added this year. More on that later. And why only most people? Surely a public holiday is a good thing? *sigh* you would think so wouldn’t you….
As well as the standard holidays around Easter and Christmas, we also get these;
Day After New Year's Day (January)
Presumably this is for those that are totally hungover from the New Year celebrations and need just one more day to get their shit together. Whatever the reason, it's a welcome addition to the summer holiday and it means that one less day's leave is needed to cover the Kiwi summer shut down - oh and another day on the beach.
Anniversary Day (various)
Although these are scattered around the calendar, each region of New Zealand gets its own public holiday. Most are enjoyed in the summer months, with Auckland's being in late January. It's a bit of a mystery why Southland and South Canterbury chose to have theirs in Autumn and very early Spring. Possible the worst time of the year for these colder southern regions. All I can surmise is that the officials must really dislike their constitutents.
Waitangi Day (February)
Waitangi Day marks the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 when on the 6 February representatives of the British Crown and over 500 Māori chiefs signed what is often considered to be New Zealand’s founding document. The day was first officially commemorated in 1934, and it has been a public holiday since 1974
There are not surprisingly some tensions around the occasion. But on a purely superficial level, it's a nice little break to have shortly after NZ gets back to work after the summer hols.
Anzac Day (April)
Coming shortly after the Easter Break, Anzac Day commemorates those "who served and died in all wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations" and "the contribution and suffering of all those who have served". Dawn services are held around New Zealand and Australia and it generally serves as a time to reflect and hope for a better future without war.
Queen's Birthday (June)
It's always stuck me as odd that New Zealand gets a national holiday to mark the Queen's birthday when the UK, her home country, doesn't. At least until this year anyway. Being at the start of June it's right at the beginning of winter so outdoor options are limited but that's okay. It's another day off and I'll drink to that! I do wonder what will happen when Charlie gets on the thone though.....
Labour Day (October)
No not associated with the political party, although some seem to think it is, Labour Day commemorates the struggle for an eight-hour working day. New Zealand workers were among the first in the world to claim this right when, in 1840, the carpenter Samuel Parnell won an eight-hour day in Wellington. Labour Day was first celebrated in New Zealand on 28 October 1890, when several thousand trade union members and supporters attended parades in the main centres. Government employees were given the day off to attend the parades and many businesses closed for at least part of the day. Or at least according to Wikipedia.
These days it's a nice wee break in Spring and the first opportunity to take a breather before the hectic run up to Christmas.
And so that brings me to the new kid on the block, Matariki.
Matariki (June/July)
You wouldn't believe the grief the government got for introducing a new public holiday. Hardly days of enjoyment to which everyone cheers. Some accused the government of putting increased pressure on businesses who would lose "even more money" because of the extra day off. Others suggested that they had nothing against the new holiday, but suggested they should remove one of the others...such as Labour Day. Odd behaviour....ahh but wait.... maybe, just maybe the reason for the ire is because it is primarily a Māori celebration?
So what is it? Rather than me mangle the meaning, here's a quick summary from the newzealand.com website.
Matariki is a star cluster that appears in the early morning sky in New Zealand during the mid-winter months.
The star cluster is well known throughout the world and at different times of the year can be seen around the globe. It is one of the brightest clusters in the sky, containing hundreds of member stars.
Matariki has different names around the world. In English, it is called by its ancient Greek name, Pleiades or the Seven Sisters. In Hawaiian it is Makali’i, ‘eyes of royalty', and in Japan it is Subaru, meaning ‘gathered together’.
Matariki is known as the Māori New Year in Te Ao Māori.
Closely connected with the maramataka (the Māori lunar calendar), the reappearance of the Matariki stars in the early morning sky brings the past year to a close and marks the beginning of the new year.
Mātauranga Māori (ancestral knowledge and wisdom) is at the heart of celebrations of the Matariki public holiday and it will be a time for;
- Remembrance – Honouring those we have lost since the last rising of Matariki
- Celebrating the present – Gathering together to give thanks for what we have
- Looking to the future – Looking forward to the promise of a new year
I don't know about you, but that seems to be quite a noble and worthy thing to pause and reflect upon. Why not stop and think about where we are, what we have done and where we need to get to? Goodness me, in this year of all years we need time to do exactly that.
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