New Zealand celebrates Matariki, Maori New Year in late May or early June, marking the rising in the southern hemisphere of the seven stars of what?
Matariki Matariki In the Māori language Matariki is both the name of the Pleiades star cluster and also of the season of its first rising in late May or early June. This is a marker of the beginning of the new year. Different peoples celebrate Matariki at different times; some when Matariki rises in late May or early June while others observe it at the first full moon or first new moon following the rising of Matariki. In 2018, Matariki begins on 15 June. "Matariki" is a shortened version of "Ngā mata o te ariki o Tāwhirimātea", or "the eyes of
Matariki at this time. The name Matariki is used also for the central star in the cluster, with the surrounding stars named Tupu-ā-nuku, Tupu-ā-rangi, Waitī, Waitā, Waipunā-ā-rangi and Ururangi. In 2001 The Māori Language Commission began a move to "reclaim Matariki, or Aotearoa Pacific New Year, as an important focus for Māori language regeneration". Since then it has increasingly become common practice for various institutions to celebrate Matariki in a range of ways and over the period of a week or month anywhere from early June to late August. With the wider recognition, there have been proposals to make Matariki an