June 03, 2022
Matariki ceremony for dawn TV
Organisers of the first official Matariki ceremony are going mainstream to get the word out.
Rangi Mataamua, the chair of the government’s Matariki advisory committee, says the constellation also known as Pleides will start coming over the horizon into the dawn sky on June 22.
The first Matariki public holiday on June 24 will be a time to remember those lost through the year, spend time with whanau, and plan for the year ahead.
A national dawn ceremony is planned.
“It’s going to be broadcast live – Channel One, Channel 3, Prime, Discovery Channel – right across a number of platforms into the Pacific and across the globe celebrating the ceremony and just inviting everyone to come along to that early, 6 o’clock in the morning on your television set and you can be part of that as well,” Professor Mataamua says.
He hopes Matariki will be seen as not just a holiday but an expression of who we are as a nation.