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Quick Facts : Waitangi Day
| Date: 6th
February |
Type: National |
Also Called:
Maori Waitangi Day |
| Celebrations:
Musical Concerts, Family get
together, Parades |
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Image courtesy: wikiPedia |
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Waitangi Day is celebrated in New Zealand
every year on 6th February. The day marks
the signing of the Waitangi Treaty in 1840.
Waitangi Treaty gave the Maori Tribes of New
Zealand autonomy of their land and signed a
pact between the British and the Maori
Tribes for transferring ownership of the
land of the tribes. The Waitangi Treaty is
also called the founding treaty of New
Zealand.
The treaty was signed in what is now known as the Treaty House in
Waitangi. The treaty accepted New Zealand as
a part of the British Empire while giving
them the rights to their land. However, the
signing of the treaty was not followed by
immediate celebrations. In fact, there was a
lot of disagreement between the English and
the Maori version of the agreement. The
first celebration took place on 29th
January, 1934, when the treaty actually got
signed. On 6th February 1934, the Treaty
House was officially made a public reserve.
Later on, in 1947, a Navy ceremony was
held at the grounds of the Treaty House to
commemorate this day. However, it was not
until 1973 that the official flag of New
Zealand was raised for the first time at the
Treaty House. And during all this time, the
Waitangi Day was renamed as the New Zealand
Day and then renamed to Waitangi Day again.
The day is a public holiday in the
country. Political leaders are invited at
the Treaty House where issues of national
interest are debated and energetic speeches
are given by the leaders. The day often sees
the people of New Zealand organizing
concerts and music festivals. Two popular
festivals associated with Waitangi Day are
One Love festival and Groove in the Park,
both of which are music festivals. In fact,
most people can be seen on the beach on this
day, relaxing under the warm New Zealand
sun.
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Other holidays celebrated in New Zealand
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