Celebrate Maori New Year in New Zealand

The refrain of Auld Lang Syne may be but a distant memory of six months ago, but there are still new year celebrations to enjoy for those willing to travel.

Visitors to New Zealand in June will be able to join in with the festivities for the Maori new year, also known as Matariki.

While it does not fall until June 27th, there is a month of celebrations for the Maori new year starting on June 1st, including art and food festivals and celestial-navigation tours.

Matariki is actually a small star cluster that appears in the north-eastern pre-dawn sky. Its emergence in June has for years been treated by Maoris as the beginning of a new phase of life, and is marked with harvests and planting of trees and crops.

One of the aims of the activities held for the Maori new year involves the education of people about Matariki and Maori traditions, something that is passed on through exhibitions of indigenous food and art.

As well as being a time for restoring crops and food supplies, locals treat it as an opportunity to renew and refresh relationships with friends and family, while opening ties with new acquaintances, meaning holidaymakers will be even more welcome than usual.

Older traditions saw visitors being showered with gifts of foods and delicacies, thanks to the bounty the Matariki brings, and this tradition is still alive today.

What the Matariki essentially means for the holidaymaker is the opportunity to embrace age-old traditions and be embraced by a sharing community.

For more information about Matariki visit www.matariki.net.nz
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