Wellington cancels Guy Fawkes fireworks from next year, replace with Matariki show

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#223466 1-Oct-2017 09:20

From Wellington City Council:

Wellington will formally make Matariki, the Māori New Year, a major city celebration in 2018, Mayor Justin Lester has announced.

As part of this, Wellington will be moving its annual major fireworks event to Matariki from 2018. The Wellington Sky Show, which is usually held in November, is the largest annual fireworks display put on by a city council in New Zealand.

Deputy Mayor Jill Day says that the mini fireworks show put on by the Council this year for Matariki was highly successful and very popular. “Despite the winter, families turned up to the waterfront to see the display. The feedback we received was that the earlier time was much more family friendly. As a mother of three young children, that shows me this is a much better time for this event and will help make Sky Show even better and more popular.”

Mayor Lester says that the move represents how serious the city is about making Matariki a cornerstone celebration.

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#1875368 1-Oct-2017 10:33

Why is 'the city' serious about making something that is of significance to about 10% of the population a 'cornerstone celebration'?

I'm not suggesting Guy Fawkes is of more significance - or any - merely that Matariki isn't either.....

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#1875372 1-Oct-2017 11:25

Geektastic:

Why is 'the city' serious about making something that is of significance to about 10% of the population a 'cornerstone celebration'?

I'm not suggesting Guy Fawkes is of more significance - or any - merely that Matariki isn't either.....

Perhaps we shouldn't celebrate anything at all, ever?

Shifting a fireworks display from November to June makes sense for a few reasons other than "significance of the celebration". Young kids like fireworks, fireworks are best when it's dark, and it's not dark until after 9:00pm in November vs about 6:30 in June. Then there's fire risk.

Celebrating "new year" closer to the winter solstice makes sense in the Southern hemisphere.

I suspect your "about 10%" comment is something you made up.

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#1875403 1-Oct-2017 11:39

Fred99:

Geektastic:

Why is 'the city' serious about making something that is of significance to about 10% of the population a 'cornerstone celebration'?

I'm not suggesting Guy Fawkes is of more significance - or any - merely that Matariki isn't either.....

Perhaps we shouldn't celebrate anything at all, ever?

Shifting a fireworks display from November to June makes sense for a few reasons other than "significance of the celebration". Young kids like fireworks, fireworks are best when it's dark, and it's not dark until after 9:00pm in November vs about 6:30 in June. Then there's fire risk.

Celebrating "new year" closer to the winter solstice makes sense in the Southern hemisphere.

I suspect your "about 10%" comment is something you made up.

I suspect his 10% to be quite close.

This is just more PC rubbish.

Why not stop burning money and just do one at New Years.

Fred99

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#1875407 1-Oct-2017 11:57

Pumpedd:

Fred99:

Geektastic:

Why is 'the city' serious about making something that is of significance to about 10% of the population a 'cornerstone celebration'?

I'm not suggesting Guy Fawkes is of more significance - or any - merely that Matariki isn't either.....

Perhaps we shouldn't celebrate anything at all, ever?

Shifting a fireworks display from November to June makes sense for a few reasons other than "significance of the celebration". Young kids like fireworks, fireworks are best when it's dark, and it's not dark until after 9:00pm in November vs about 6:30 in June. Then there's fire risk.

Celebrating "new year" closer to the winter solstice makes sense in the Southern hemisphere.

I suspect your "about 10%" comment is something you made up.

I suspect his 10% to be quite close.

This is just more PC rubbish.

Why not stop burning money and just do one at New Years.

What "PC Rubbish"?

I didn't see anybody bring up the Catholic thing about Guy Fawkes as reason to shift dates for a fireworks display.

I suspect his "10%" to be a deliberate slur - of the "are you thinking what I'm thinking" kind.

shk292

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#1875455 1-Oct-2017 12:55

I agree with the concept of moving it to winter - always seems strange doing fireworks in the daylight, as often happens in Nov. And doubly strange having anything to do with Guy Fawkes.

But I'm generally anti-Matairiki. 10% is probably a reasonable to high estimate of those with predominantly Maori ancestry in Wellington. I'd rather have a Queen's Birthday fireworks day.

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#1875465 1-Oct-2017 13:15

Fred99:

Pumpedd:

Fred99:

Geektastic:

Why is 'the city' serious about making something that is of significance to about 10% of the population a 'cornerstone celebration'?

I'm not suggesting Guy Fawkes is of more significance - or any - merely that Matariki isn't either.....

Perhaps we shouldn't celebrate anything at all, ever?

Shifting a fireworks display from November to June makes sense for a few reasons other than "significance of the celebration". Young kids like fireworks, fireworks are best when it's dark, and it's not dark until after 9:00pm in November vs about 6:30 in June. Then there's fire risk.

Celebrating "new year" closer to the winter solstice makes sense in the Southern hemisphere.

I suspect your "about 10%" comment is something you made up.

I suspect his 10% to be quite close.

This is just more PC rubbish.

Why not stop burning money and just do one at New Years.

What "PC Rubbish"?

I didn't see anybody bring up the Catholic thing about Guy Fawkes as reason to shift dates for a fireworks display.

I suspect his "10%" to be a deliberate slur - of the "are you thinking what I'm thinking" kind.

No clue why you would bring Catholics into the debate..weird.

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#1875474 1-Oct-2017 13:31

It is a brilliant decision, Matariki is definitely a New Zealand thing and its great that we stopping the following an island off Europe that has less and less significance to Aotearoa. Maori make up > 15% of our population and are the tangata whenua. It is also not just Maori that celebrate Matariki.

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

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#1875477 1-Oct-2017 13:39

Pumpedd:

Fred99:

Pumpedd:

Fred99:

Geektastic:

Why is 'the city' serious about making something that is of significance to about 10% of the population a 'cornerstone celebration'?

I'm not suggesting Guy Fawkes is of more significance - or any - merely that Matariki isn't either.....

Perhaps we shouldn't celebrate anything at all, ever?

Shifting a fireworks display from November to June makes sense for a few reasons other than "significance of the celebration". Young kids like fireworks, fireworks are best when it's dark, and it's not dark until after 9:00pm in November vs about 6:30 in June. Then there's fire risk.

Celebrating "new year" closer to the winter solstice makes sense in the Southern hemisphere.

I suspect your "about 10%" comment is something you made up.

I suspect his 10% to be quite close.

This is just more PC rubbish.

Why not stop burning money and just do one at New Years.

What "PC Rubbish"?

I didn't see anybody bring up the Catholic thing about Guy Fawkes as reason to shift dates for a fireworks display.

I suspect his "10%" to be a deliberate slur - of the "are you thinking what I'm thinking" kind.

No clue why you would bring Catholics into the debate..weird.

If you have no idea about that, then clearly you have no idea.

Fred99

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#1875479 1-Oct-2017 13:42

shk292:

I agree with the concept of moving it to winter - always seems strange doing fireworks in the daylight, as often happens in Nov. And doubly strange having anything to do with Guy Fawkes.

But I'm generally anti-Matairiki. 10% is probably a reasonable to high estimate of those with predominantly Maori ancestry in Wellington. I'd rather have a Queen's Birthday fireworks day.

Why are you generally anti-Matariki?

Did one bite you?

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#1875494 1-Oct-2017 14:36

Fred99:

Why are you generally anti-Matariki?

Did one bite you?

Ha, no - it's just that it seems a bit "made up" to me. Never heard of it before about 10 years ago and now it seems to be the cause du jour. And, just my personal opinion, but I think we as a society have more legacy from the UK crown than we do from Maori - hence my suggestion for a Queen's Birthday fireworks night.

But either would be better than Guy Fawkes. Maybe get Subaru to sponsor the Matairiki one

Fred99

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#1875497 1-Oct-2017 14:50

shk292:

Fred99:

Why are you generally anti-Matariki?

Did one bite you?

Ha, no - it's just that it seems a bit "made up" to me. Never heard of it before about 10 years ago and now it seems to be the cause du jour. And, just my personal opinion, but I think we as a society have more legacy from the UK crown than we do from Maori - hence my suggestion for a Queen's Birthday fireworks night.

But either would be better than Guy Fawkes. Maybe get Subaru to sponsor the Matairiki one

It's not "made up". From Te Ara:

Matariki, or Māori New Year celebrations were once popular, but stopped in the 1940s.

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Wiggum

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#1875548 1-Oct-2017 16:38

Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades, which rises in in mid-winter. Traditionally, it represented the start of the New Year for Māori. It is also a time for remembering the dead and celebrating new life.

Taranaki Whanui Chair Wayne Mulligan says mana whenua are delighted by the city’s ambition for Matariki and will work with the council to develop the programme, “Matariki is about fire, food and whanau and it is traditionally a time to rest, reflect and share.”

This smells like just more Maori-fication to me.

Fred99

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#1875567 1-Oct-2017 18:01

Wiggum:

Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades, which rises in in mid-winter. Traditionally, it represented the start of the New Year for Māori. It is also a time for remembering the dead and celebrating new life.

Taranaki Whanui Chair Wayne Mulligan says mana whenua are delighted by the city’s ambition for Matariki and will work with the council to develop the programme, “Matariki is about fire, food and whanau and it is traditionally a time to rest, reflect and share.”

This smells like just more Maori-fication to me.

Something that frightens you?

It's said fear has an unpleasant odour.

shk292

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#1875571 1-Oct-2017 18:08

Fred99:

Something that frightens you?

It's said fear has an unpleasant odour.

Probably more disdain/resignation/boredom than fear I think

Fred99

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#1875600 1-Oct-2017 18:16

shk292:

Fred99:

Something that frightens you?

It's said fear has an unpleasant odour.

Probably more disdain/resignation/boredom than fear I think

Then why bother commenting?

Edit:

Oh wait, I know - "f&*ing maoris" (often followed by "they're wanting everything")

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