Celebrations

Conservation and sustainability are wonderful kupu and the movements behind these kupu are beautiful and imperative for our world. Quite often in discourse around conservation and sustainable practice or ways of living, we hear things like ‘for the survival of the planet’. Of course, the planet will be fine, she has evolved through eons, and will continue to regardless of how many single use plastics we use. What we really mean is for our own survival. The health and state of the natural world is integrally connected to our own because we are of course a part of the ecology of the planet. Indigenous knowledge systems are based on this very foundation. So, for Conservation Week I am going to share my perspective on what that means to me as a kaiako, as a person and as tangata whenua.

St. Patrick's Day is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17th of March, the traditional death date of St Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Many legends grew up around him—for example, that he drove the snakes out of Ireland and used the shamrock to explain the Trinity. Although St. Patrick's Day started out as a religious holiday, over time it has become more a celebration of Irish culture than a religious event.

The Chinese New Year, which is also known as the Spring Festival or Lunar New Year is celebrated by millions of people around the world. China is not the only country that celebrates the start of a new lunar year around this time. Several other countries in Asia, including Vietnam, Korea, Japan, and Philippines, hold their own new year celebrations. Sometimes, the date celebrated may differ by one day or even one moon cycle due to time zones or other factors.

Diwali is the festival of lights which is celebrated by millions of Hindus, Sikhs and Jains around the world, including those that are in New Zealand. The reasons people celebrate Diwali varies with the different religions. For some Diwali coincides with harvest and new year celebrations, for others it is a festival of new beginnings and the triumph of good over evil, and light over darkness.

Matariki has become synonymous with the celebration of the Māori New Year. Matariki is the name of a star cluster, and when it is visible in the night sky, this marks the change in season and the start of the first lunar cycle of the maramataka (Māori lunar calendar). Matariki is part of a bigger constellation called Te Waka o Rangi. It is a canoe with Matariki at the bow (front) and Tautoru (Orion) is at the stern (back). The waka is captained by a tupuna (ancestor) named Taramainuku whose mahi (work) it is to cast a cosmic net across the earth as the sun sets each day. With this net, Taramainuku trawls for the wairua (spirits) of those who have died. Each day he hauls the net up to the sky and hangs it off the back of his waka. This story tells how our dead are carried across the heavens by a waka lead by Matariki. As the sun rises, Taramainuku casts the wairua of the dead into the sky where they become part of the cosmos. Kua wheturangihia is a way of saying someone has died in te reo Māori, it literally means they have become stars.

Acknowledging ANZAC day is about building young children’s understanding of the traditions, facts and folklore of ANZAC Day and many real-life stories. It is about creating anniversaries that brings back these sensory memories.