Celebrating Matariki - Workshops

Here are some of our new learnings about Matariki celebrations.




By Monty, Nic, Arlo:  
Planning for 20 years in the future - A National Holiday Proposal:
links 
Government 
Pro’s 
Celebrate our heritage 
Notes Queen’s birthday does not have a real purpose. con’s 
We already have a new years holiday We should make a different holiday to celebrate Matariki for the pleiades star cluster appears on a different date each year. 
We doubt it would be a hassle as easter is a holiday that also changes each year
We should share the day if the day ties in 

 Formal request 

Dear Minister, 
 We as citizens of New Zealand believe that we should have a holiday to remember our Maori heritage. This holiday would be to celebrate the seven stars of Matariki and would replace Queen’s Birthday. This is the Maori new year and has a long history behind it; where as Queen’s Birthday does not have as much relevant history. The original history around queen’s birthday was for a long weekend to help new settler families. These are the pro’s of changing the holiday: Celebrating diversity in our cultures which New Zealand is already ahead of the rest of the world in. We will have more knowledge about our Maori history. The holiday will show independence and be more relevant. These are the con’s of changing the holiday: We will forget about what Queen’s birthday means. Some people may not find it relevant to them. Overall we think that we should replace Queen’s birthday with a Matariki festival. This would help our country. It would also show our history to other countries and this would show how we grow.