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NEW ZEALAND-CHRISTCHURCH-LIGHT SHOW

(230707) -- CHRISTCHURCH, July 7, 2023 (Xinhua) -- People visit a light show with Maori cultural characteristics in Chrischurch, New Zealand, July 7, 2023. The nine-day light show is held to celebrate Matariki, the Maori New Year, which falls on July 14. (Photo by Walter/Xinhua)

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NEW ZEALAND-CHRISTCHURCH-LIGHT SHOW

(230707) -- CHRISTCHURCH, July 7, 2023 (Xinhua) -- People visit a light show with Maori cultural characteristics in Chrischurch, New Zealand, July 7, 2023. The nine-day light show is held to celebrate Matariki, the Maori New Year, which falls on July 14. (Photo by Walter/Xinhua)

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NEW ZEALAND-CHRISTCHURCH-LIGHT SHOW

(230707) -- CHRISTCHURCH, July 7, 2023 (Xinhua) -- People visit a light show with Maori cultural characteristics in Chrischurch, New Zealand, July 7, 2023. The nine-day light show is held to celebrate Matariki, the Maori New Year, which falls on July 14. (Photo by Walter/Xinhua)

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NEW ZEALAND-CHRISTCHURCH-LIGHT SHOW

(230707) -- CHRISTCHURCH, July 7, 2023 (Xinhua) -- People visit a light show with Maori cultural characteristics in Chrischurch, New Zealand, July 7, 2023. The nine-day light show is held to celebrate Matariki, the Maori New Year, which falls on July 14. (Photo by Walter/Xinhua)

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NEW ZEALAND-CHRISTCHURCH-LIGHT SHOW

(230707) -- CHRISTCHURCH, July 7, 2023 (Xinhua) -- People visit a light show with Maori cultural characteristics in Chrischurch, New Zealand, July 7, 2023. The nine-day light show is held to celebrate Matariki, the Maori New Year, which falls on July 14. (Photo by Walter/Xinhua)

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NEW ZEALAND-CHRISTCHURCH-LIGHT SHOW

(230707) -- CHRISTCHURCH, July 7, 2023 (Xinhua) -- People visit a light show with Maori cultural characteristics in Chrischurch, New Zealand, July 7, 2023. The nine-day light show is held to celebrate Matariki, the Maori New Year, which falls on July 14. (Photo by Walter/Xinhua)

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NEW ZEALAND-MATARIKI-OFFICIAL PUBLIC HOLIDAY

(220625) -- WELLINGTON, June 25, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Fireworks celebrating the Maori New Year shine the sky over Wellington, New Zealand, June 24, 2022. New Zealanders celebrated Matariki, or the Maori New Year, as an official public holiday for the first time on Friday. (Photo by Meng Tao/Xinhua)

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NEW ZEALAND-MATARIKI-OFFICIAL PUBLIC HOLIDAY

(220625) -- WELLINGTON, June 25, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Fireworks celebrating the Maori New Year shine the sky over Wellington, New Zealand, June 24, 2022. New Zealanders celebrated Matariki, or the Maori New Year, as an official public holiday for the first time on Friday. (Photo by Meng Tao/Xinhua)

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NEW ZEALAND-MATARIKI-OFFICIAL PUBLIC HOLIDAY

(220625) -- WELLINGTON, June 25, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Representatives of Maori people attend a celebration for Maori New Year in Wellington, New Zealand, June 24, 2022. New Zealanders celebrated Matariki, or the Maori New Year, as an official public holiday for the first time on Friday. (The Museum Te Papa Tongarewa/Handout via Xinhua)

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NEW ZEALAND-MATARIKI-OFFICIAL PUBLIC HOLIDAY

(220625) -- WELLINGTON, June 25, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Fireworks celebrating the Maori New Year shine the sky over Wellington, New Zealand, June 24, 2022. New Zealanders celebrated Matariki, or the Maori New Year, as an official public holiday for the first time on Friday. (Photo by Meng Tao/Xinhua)

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NEW ZEALAND-MATARIKI-OFFICIAL PUBLIC HOLIDAY

(220625) -- WELLINGTON, June 25, 2022 (Xinhua) -- People look into the sky at seaside to celebrate the Maori New Year in Wellington, New Zealand, June 24, 2022. New Zealanders celebrated Matariki, or the Maori New Year, as an official public holiday for the first time on Friday. (The Museum Te Papa Tongarewa/Handout via Xinhua)

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New Zealanders celebrate Matariki as public holiday for first time

STORY: New Zealanders celebrate Matariki as public holiday for first time DATELINE: June 23, 2022 LENGTH: 00:01:42 LOCATION: Wellington CATEGORY: SOCIETY SHOTLIST: 1. various of fireworks STORYLINE: New Zealanders celebrated Matariki, or the Maori New Year, as an additional public holiday for the first time on Friday. Matariki will be a distinctly New Zealand holiday, a time for reflection and celebration, and the first public holiday that recognizes the Maori worldview, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said while joining the nation's celebrations at a traditional ceremony early Friday morning. Matariki is a cluster of stars (Pleiades) that rises in mid-winter, marking the start of the Maori New Year, and in recent years has become a time of celebration not just for Maori, but for many people across New Zealand. A Matariki Advisory Group has been established to provide advice on future dates of the public holiday and how it should be celebrated because the date of Matariki changes each year depending on th