Matariki is the Māori New Year in New Zealand, based on the rising of the Matariki star cluster (Pleiades). It is a time of remembrance, celebration, and renewal, officially recognized as a public holiday since 2022.

When is Matariki?

Matariki is celebrated on the first Monday in June every year.

The following is the list of Matariki from 2020 to 2049.

The History of Matariki?

Matariki is the Māori name for the Pleiades star cluster, which reappears in the mid-winter sky (June–July). For Māori communities, the first sighting of Matariki each year marked the beginning of the new year in the traditional Māori lunar calendar.

The festival was a time for harvesting and food storage at the end of the growing season, honoring ancestors who had passed away, and celebrating new life and planning for the year ahead.

Different tribes had their own customs, but all linked the stars to seasonal cycles, agriculture, and spirituality.

With the arrival of European settlers in the 19th century, Western calendars and traditions became dominant. By the late 19th and much of the 20th century, Matariki celebrations had faded, surviving only in some iwi and rural communities. For generations, it was largely overlooked in national culture.

From the 1970s onward, interest in Māori culture and traditions grew as part of a wider cultural renaissance.

Scholars, elders, and community leaders promoted the significance of Matariki, leading to local celebrations and school programs.

By the early 2000s, Matariki festivals were becoming common across the country, emphasizing cultural pride, astronomy, and community gatherings.

In 2022, Matariki was officially recognized as a public holiday in New Zealand, the first holiday to honor Māori culture specifically.

The date shifts each year, based on the lunar calendar and the appearance of the Matariki cluster, but it always falls in winter (late June or early July).