There are a number of different approaches to identifying when the Māori New Year is observed and celebrated.

Because Māori follow an environmental calendar system that takes into account the sun, various stars, the moon, and other ecological indicators, a broader understanding of the natural world is needed when marking the Matariki ceremony.

While there are regional and tribal variations, all Māori marked the New Year by observing the pre-dawn rising of stars in the winter.

Caption

Rangi Matamua, then-Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and Sir Pou Temara at the Matariki hautapu, 24 Jun 2022. Photo by Erica Sinclair. Te Papa

Why the public holiday date differs

Māori divide the year into seasons, months, and lunar phases. Time is determined by a number of factors, including the position of the sun, the phase of the moon, and the rising and setting of stars.

Māori take into account the position of the sun when it rises, various stars that appear in the morning before the sun, and the different lunar phases. These events give us our markers of time.

The Matariki public holiday dates fall on the closest Friday to the Tangaroa lunar period during the lunar month of Pipiri. Tangaroa is not a single phase of the moon but rather the last quarter period of the lunar calendar. Because of this, the dates to celebrate Matariki will differ from year to year.

This period is one of the most well-known and best recorded times to celebrate Matariki.

Matariki public holiday dates

Below are the dates agreed upon by the Matariki Advisory Committee for the Matariki holiday beginning in 2022.

NZ Parliament: Celebrating Matariki as a public holiday