Maori New Year becomes a public holiday in New Zealand

Wellington (dpa) – New Zealand wants to celebrate the indigenous Maori New Year’s Matariki as a public holiday from next year. The law is due to be read in Parliament on Thursday and will be promulgated soon.

“Matariki will be the first public holiday to recognize the Maori world view,” said Deputy Minister for Arts and Culture Kerry Allan. Politics have the same Maori roots.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the project in February. In doing so, she fulfilled an election promise made by the Labor Party. The law is expected to pass by a large majority. The public holiday, which occurs on a different day each year, falls on the 24th of June, 2022.

Efforts have long been made to officially recognize the festival as important to the indigenous people of New Zealand. Matariki is the Maori name for the constellation Pleiades (constellation of Taurus). When the star nebula first rises in June, around the time of the winter solstice, the Maori New Year begins. For them, it is a time to remember, but also an opportunity to celebrate new beginnings.