NZ has a new annual celebration and public holiday – Matariki. How could we understand and lean into this as the Christian community?

To keep this very simple: Matariki is the Māori New Year, timed by the Matariki cluster of stars reappearing in our night sky

• So, what do you logically do at new year?
• This is a time to
  1. Reflect on the past year,
  2. Celebrate the present
  3. Plan and look forward to the year ahead

For agricultural societies, it is logical to look at each new year as each new cycle of planting and harvesting crops – which makes ‘new year’ the middle of winter

• This is true of 1 January as New Year’s Day also – noting this came from the Greek calendar system in the Northern hemisphere, where 1 January is likewise the middle of winter!

In superstition and mythology

Re superstition – The stars of Matariki were also closely tied to planting, harvesting and hunting. If the stars appeared clear and bright, it signified an abundant season ahead.

To note: Matariki has no single meaning or timing

In different Iwi the dates of the celebration are different – sometimes for a week, sometimes for a month. The customs and meaning associated with it vary also – except for the central thread that it is the new year, so we (1) look backwards with thankfulness remembering those who have gone before, (2) gathering to celebrate with loved ones today – while (3) looking (or planning) forward with hope to the future.

The celebration explained in simple form – with a Christian understanding

Jade Hohaia has created an amazing approx 4min video with Lorinda Pereira, an amazing Māori leader in Northland, explaining what Matariki means to her in her hapu, and as a Christian. Click here.

The images to the right show you how we are doing this in our own FaceBook posts. Freely use these.

The text we are putting out with images (2022 – see images on the right) on FaceBook is as follows (freely copy, paste / edit):

IT’S A COMMON EXPERIENCE to gaze up at the stars and to feel a sense of ‘awe’ and ‘wonder’. With the arrival of Matariki as a national holiday here in Aotearoa New Zealand, let’s explore some of what this brings to us. As a family of stars, we may consider what it means to be ‘community’ together – with two thoughts coming from Te reo Māori being…“Matariki ahunga nui” (Matariki brings us together) & “Matariki whiria te tangata” (Matariki weave the people together). But Matariki also invites us to reflect on the past year, to celebrate the present, and to plan for the year ahead, as a New Year celebration. All-the-while to carry a sense of hope. There’s a Bible verse that reflects on this … “When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?… Lord, our God, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Psalm 8:3-4/9.

In terms of the cultural values Matariki will likely take on here in NZ 

1. An esteeming of things-Maori as a part of the mix of who we are as New Zealanders, is certainly the overarching point of having this new public holiday
2. Remembrance – Honouring those we have lost since the last rising of Matariki
3. Celebrating the present with loved ones – Gathering together to give thanks for what we have
4. Looking to the future – Looking forward to the promise of a new year
5. Commercialism – As much as some will protest this, shops will naturally leverage the long weekend – just as has also happened to Christmas and Easter.

Addressing negativity toward this from individuals

Various objections have certainly been in our social media. The following paragraph summarises a possible response to a few issues – to give you some wording or thoughts.

Some will feel no connection to Matariki as New Zealanders. Christians will also feel understandably uncomfortable when discovering there are pagan religious elements connected with this festival. To comment on this, the feeling of disconnect is because we aren’t familiar with the history of Matariki. This festival hasn’t been a part of our tradition. It’s worth considering why our Government made this decision though. Following Te Tiriti, a Government was set up that disregarded Māori, even while they were the majority of the population. Various European festivals made it onto our national calendar – eventually inclusive of public holidays, but no Māori festivals at all. To note it, Waitangi isn’t a Māori festival. It’s for all New Zealanders. The Treaty / Te Tiriti is arguably more for non-Māori than Māori, in that it is what gave our non-Māori ancestors legal right to live in these lands. To recognise this injustice, just one (not five) Māori festivals was chosen – to be included in our annual calendar. More than being about pulling people together, this is first and foremost about a value. We are wise to recognise this is a good value, even though the pagan associations connected to Matariki (any worship of objects / created things) is not for us as Christians. Regarding idolatry, we believe all people should worship their Creator – not his creation. Our response could, however, be no different to an atheist celebrating Christmas with their family, or myself during Hari Haya with Muslim friends, or during Deepavali with Hindu friends when living in Asia… We engage in relationship and in community with others, while refraining from participating in any spiritual dynamics that we think are untrue. It is about tolerance., and it doesn’t have to be viewed as a big issue – despite clear differences on this matter. In truth, this type of engagement is already the case for the majority of New Zealanders at Easter and Christmas annually. So it certainly can’t hurt if we extend the same grace in this instance – while at all times remaining true to ourselves and our beliefs. There much good within this festival. There is, in fact, an opportunity to learn an entire way of thinking and learning, preserving knowledge as an oral society related to history, values and agriculture…  …through stories – connected with stars that were looked upon every night and therefore well known, in a society that somehow survived without electricity, TVs or smartphones!

Practices that might fit the occasion

In noting there is a public holiday given with this – there is TIME to consider a community activity, whether within a church community, or in the wider (geographic) community.

Building fires, singing songs and telling stories are apt applications. In the church:

• Give thanks to God for events of the past months and year – and for God’s provision for needs.
• Tell stories of those who have gone before us – living by faith, bringing blessing to our nation. They are role models!
• Gather with whanau / with loved ones / community around food and celebration
• Look to the future to see where hope and opportunity might lie

Matariki Stories

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