WAITANGI DAY

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.