So, you have one national day? Here in New Zealand we have two…sort of.

The official national day for New Zealand is Waitangi Day on 6^th February but I’ve always been reluctant to write about it; it’s not much of a day of celebration here. There are no buntings or fireworks; there are no parades or people getting dressed up in national costume. It’s a political hot-potato and it’s all a bit “blergh” for many Kiwis.

The problem is one of those dilemmas of humanity: conflict has arisen from good intentions.

Back in 1800s, when the world was being colonized by the English and Europeans, there was a widely held belief, by the colonisers, that unless the landscape had been changed through agriculture or construction it was considered to be unoccupied and unowned. We all know how that turned out for many indigenous peoples. To a great extent, that was no different for the resident population of Maori who had been here for over a 1,000 years by the time the Europeans arrived. The difference has been that we have a Treaty, a signed document between the representatives of Queen Victoria and various Maori chiefs of the 1840s.

The problem is this: there are two versions of the treaty. One written in English and one written in Maori. I’m sure you can all appreciate that you cannot always get a direct translation between two very different cultures and languages. The treaties don’t actually match and, in spirit, they are very different.

These differences continue to cause conflict between some factions of New Zealand society – between some groups of those who are of only European decent and some groups of Maori. Sometimes there is conflict between different iwi (tribes) of Maori and this year there was conflict within the iwi based in Waitangi. All sides of the discussion have valid points to make and I have no idea if there will ever be any resolution.

As a result, ANZAC Day, on 25^th April, has emerged as a, sort of, default national day. ANZAC stands for Australian New Zealand Army Corps and we share the day with the Aussies.

ANZAC Day began as a day to commemorate the disastrous 25^th April 1915 landing of Antipodean soldiers on the Gallipoli Peninsula in what is modern day Turkey. Through no fault of the Anzacs, the campaign ended badly and the actions of our soldiers have left a powerful legacy: Both countries consider the campaign to be an important part of their history.

It is very much the day from which our national identities began. The untying of the apron strings of ‘Mother England‘, if you will.

We continue to have a wonderful relationship with the people of Turkey and many Australians and New Zealanders make a pilgrimage to the Gallipoli Peninsula. When I was there, I broke the rules and walked down into the ocean then turned and looked up at the hill those men were meant to conquer. I cried my eyes out. There was no hope of it ever being a successful campaign and ‘our boys’ were pretty much used as cannon fodder.

ANZAC Day was, over time, extended to be a memorial day for all people who have battled or worked in the field during all of the campaigns New Zealanders have been involved with. In recent years, it has become a real time of coming together for many generations and people of all races within what is now a fairly multi-cultural nation. It is our default national holiday.

Does your country have strong links with another country or countries around the world? How do you celebrate your national day?

Karyn Van Der Zwet is a mother of three boys. She has had articles printed in the US parenting magazine: ‘Pathways to family wellness” and the journal of the British Association of Counselling and Psychotherapy – Children and Young People. She also writes for her own blog: http://kloppenmum.wordpress.com and can be found at http://facebook.com/kloppenmum. Her book All About Tantrums is due out in June this year.

The picture used in this post is attributed to  Road Less Travelled Blog

Karyn Wills

Karyn is a teacher, writer and solo mother to three sons. She lives in the sunny wine region of Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand in the city of Napier.

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