What Matariki is

Matariki is the Māori New Year, marked by the rising of the Matariki star cluster — known elsewhere as the Pleiades — in the winter sky of Aotearoa. It rises in late June or early July, depending on the year, and in 2022 it became an official New Zealand public holiday.

For Māori, Matariki is a time for three things: remembering those who have died since the last Matariki, celebrating what has grown and been harvested, and looking forward to what is coming. It is a new year that begins in winter — a New Year anchored not in a calendar date but in the actual movement of the sky.

Why it matters for young families

Acknowledging Matariki at home — even simply — connects tamariki to a calendar that is woven from the land and sky of Aotearoa. It says: this place has its own time. Its seasons, its stars, its ways of marking what matters are different from the ones that came from elsewhere, and they belong to us now, whoever we are.

For families who are not Māori, approaching Matariki with respect and genuine curiosity — rather than overconfidence or avoidance — is the right path.

Simple ways to mark Matariki with under-fives

You do not need a curriculum. You do not need to get it perfect. A small, sincere acknowledgement of the season is enough.

• ✓On a clear winter night, go outside and look up together. The Matariki cluster is visible to the naked eye in the northeast, just before dawn. You do not need to identify every star — looking together and naming that they are Matariki is enough.
• ✓Light a candle and, in simple words, mention someone you love who is not here anymore. With young children, this can be brief and warm: 'We're thinking of Nan tonight.'
• ✓Plant something together. Traditionally, Matariki was a time for planting — a connection between the new year and the soil. A seed in a pot on the windowsill is enough.
• ✓Cook a winter meal together from seasonal ingredients — kūmara, pumpkin, leeks, anything warm and grown here.
• ✓Visit the library and find one of the many excellent Matariki picture books available for young children in Aotearoa. Read it together, simply, without needing to explain everything.

On not overcomplicating it

Matariki belongs to everyone in Aotearoa, and it begins wherever you are. You do not need a perfectly curated event or a deep grounding in te ao Māori to acknowledge it. A simple act of pausing together, looking up, and saying: this is Matariki, this is our New Year here in Aotearoa — that is a beginning.

Beginnings are exactly what Matariki is for.

The seeds of the longer conversation

For young tamariki, what you are planting now is not a comprehensive understanding of Matariki. It is a felt sense that this place has a deep time, that the sky tells a story, that some things are worth pausing for. The fuller conversation — about the nine stars of Matariki, about te ao Māori, about what it means to live on this land — will come in layers, over years.

Right now, you are just planting the seed. And that is exactly right.

For more on seasonal activities throughout the year, explore our resources or visit our activities section for ideas that connect tamariki to where they live.

The nine stars of Matariki

In the traditional Māori understanding, the Matariki cluster contains nine stars, each associated with a domain of life: Matariki herself (health and wellbeing), Pōhutukawa (those who have died), Tupuānuku (food grown in the ground), Tupuārangi (food gathered from above), Waitī (freshwater environments), Waitā (saltwater environments), Waipuna-ā-Rangi (rain), Ururangi (winds), and Hiwa-i-te-rangi (aspirations and wishes).

For young tamariki, this does not need to be a lesson. But the idea that different parts of the sky are connected to different parts of life — water, food, the wind, the people we have lost — is one that resonates, even with very young children, if it is shared simply and without pressure.

Matariki as a practice, not a performance

The best Matariki acknowledgements at home are the ones that happen quietly and genuinely. A candle. A question. A meal. You do not need to do it perfectly or comprehensively. You just need to do something, with sincerity, and return to it next year.

For more seasonal and cultural resources, explore our resource section or browse this week's activities.