Christmas in New Zealand
Christmas traditions in New Zealand—like
Christmas (Māori: Kirihimete
History
The Christian festival of Christmas was introduced to New Zealand by
In the mid 19th century observance of the Christmas holiday varied along sectarian grounds. English and Irish settlers, who were typically
Christmas Day became a bank holiday following the Bank Holidays Act 1873, and all workers were entitled to a day off for Christmas as a result of the Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration Act 1894. The Public Holidays Act 1910 further established Christmas Day and "the day after Christmas Day"[6] (Boxing Day) as non-working days.[7]
Imagery and decorations
New Zealanders celebrate Christmas with traditional Northern Hemisphere winter and biblical imagery mixed with local imagery. Native plants, ferns, and flaxes are displayed alongside traditional Christmas flowers such as mistletoe, and biblical stars and angels.[5] The pōhutukawa, which produces large crimson flowers in December, is an often used symbol for Christmas in New Zealand, and subsequently the pōhutukawa has become known as the New Zealand Christmas tree.[8][5]
Some homeowners decorate the exterior of their houses. Displays range from the modest to elaborate, sometimes with hundreds of lights and decorations depicting seasonal motifs such as Christmas trees, Santa Claus, reindeer, or nativity scenes.[9][10] Particular regions have a tradition for elaborate displays, and attract a great amount of pedestrian and vehicular traffic during the Christmas season. This is despite the longer days, with dusk ranging from 9:05 p.m. in Gisborne (New Zealand's most northeasterly city) to as late as 10:20 p.m. in Invercargill (the most southwesterly city).[11]
Food
Families traditionally gather for a Christmas lunch. While a formal dinner indoors remains traditional, barbecue lunches have increased in popularity since the 2000s, with around 43% of New Zealanders having a barbecue lunch in 2019.[5][12][13] Cultural cooking methods such as hāngī, umu and lovo are also commonly used in Christmas celebrations.[14][15]
Christmas lunches commonly include hot meat, with
Parades and music
Several Christmas themed parades are held in New Zealand. A popular event is Auckland's Santa Parade down Queen Street.[21] This features numerous floats and marching bands and attracts large crowds every year. It is held late November to accommodate holidaymakers and is seen as the preamble to the later festivities. The tradition of Carols by Candlelight is popular in New Zealand.[22][23] In Auckland and Christchurch there are usually large outdoor concerts known as Christmas in the Park.[24]
Numerous recordings of original and adapted Christmas songs have been made since 1949, when the TANZA label was founded.[25]
Religious observances
Christianity is the most common religion in New Zealand, with 37.3 percent of the population at the 2018 census identified as Christian, with Anglicanism being the largest denomination.[26] In a 2006 survey only 10 percent of those surveyed thought that religion was the most important part of Christmas, although the religious importance of Christmas was respected. 26 percent said 'going to church' was important and 41 percent said it wasn't. 31 percent said 'carols by candlelight' was important and 37 percent said it wasn't. About two-thirds said the best thing about Christmas was time spent with family.[27]
From 2009 to 2013,
In 2022, Auckland City Mission was expected to provide 10,000 parcels of food and tens of thousands of presents to people in need of support at Christmas time.[37] Christian leaders invite New Zealanders to church celebrations focusing on the "love, grace, peace and salvation" that was brought by the birth of Jesus and to show "the goodness and love of God".[38][39]
Retail
The lead-up to Christmas is the busiest shopping season in New Zealand. Paymark, who provides EFTPOS services to 70 percent of retailers, recorded a total spend of $8.6 billion of transactions through its network in the six weeks leading up to Christmas 2019. On Christmas Eve 2019, the Paymark network processed 199 transactions per second at peak times.[40]
Black Friday sales began to be adopted by New Zealand retailers in 2013, largely to remain competitive with US-based online retailers. In 2015, major retailers such as The Warehouse, Noel Leeming and Harvey Norman offered Black Friday sales,[41] and by 2018 were joined by Farmers, JB Hi-Fi, Briscoes and Rebel Sport.[42] Paymark processed $253 million in transactions though its network on Black Friday 2019, overtaking Boxing Day for the first time.[43]
Media
As Christmas falls in summer, watching television is not as strong a part of New Zealand Christmas traditions as many Northern Hemisphere countries. Most regular television series and current affairs shows go off-air from mid-December to mid-to-late January. No advertising is allowed on New Zealand television or radio on Christmas Day, a rule that also applies on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.[44]
References
- ^ "Kirihimete". maoridictionary.co.nz. Māori Dictionary. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
- ^ "Holidays Act 2003 No 129 (as at 30 September 2008), Public Act". Parliamentary Counsel Office. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ "Marsden's first Christmas". New Zealand Geographic. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-920691-33-2.
- ^ a b c d e f Swarbrick, Nancy (16 September 2016). "Public holidays – Easter, Christmas and New Year". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ "Public Holidays Act 1910" (PDF). New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 7 May 2020 – via www.austlii.edu.au.
- ^ Swarbrick, Nancy (16 September 2016). "Public holidays – public holidays legislation". Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ "Pohutukawa trees". Ministry of Culture and Heritage (New Zealand). Retrieved 6 September 2012.
- ^ Ruru, Karanama (1 December 2022). "Auckland's Franklin Rd Christmas lights turn on for first time in two years". Stuff. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ Comer, Rachael (23 December 2022). "Christmas lights: Timaru's competition winners revealed". Stuff. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ "Sunrise and sunset times in Invercargill, December 2020". www.timeanddate.com. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Lamb, ham or turkey? Survey discovers what Kiwis eat on Christmas day". NZ Herald. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
- ^ a b "What meat do Kiwis eat on Christmas Day?". NZ Herald. 19 December 2022. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
- ^ "Cook hāngī, umu and lovo safely this Christmas". Māori Television. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
- ^ natlib.govt.nz https://natlib.govt.nz/records/22828401. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
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(help) - ^ "NZ Lamb crowned meat of choice for Christmas dinner, according to survey". NZ Herald. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Pork and ham the most popular Christmas meal for Kiwis in 2021". Newshub. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ "Christmas in New Zealand". New Zealand Tourism Guide. Retrieved 24 December 2014.
- Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ISBN 978-1-877372-57-5.
- ^ Block, George (24 November 2019). "In pictures: Sweltering Auckland Santa parade goes off with bang". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ "Community spirit shines in Carols by Candlelight". Stuff. 24 December 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ "Traffic concerns force move for Carols by Candlelight". NZ Herald. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ "Stellar line-up of local talent for Christmas in the Park | Scoop News". Scoop.co.nz. 19 November 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
- ^ Grant Gillanders (10 December 2020). "Christmas in the Sun". AudioCulture.
- ^ "2018 Census totals by topic national highlights". Statistics New Zealand. Table 26. Archived from the original on 13 April 2020. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Kiwis' attitude to Christmas | NZHistory, New Zealand history online". nzhistory.govt.nz. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ "Carols by glow-stick at Vector Arena". NZ Herald. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
- ^ "St Paul's, Glow - Carols by Glowstick". Image Central. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
- ^ "The story of Christmas - A Kiwi version". NZ Herald. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
- ^ a b "St Paul's Arts & Media". YouTube. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
- ^ "Christmas in modern-day Bethlehem". Newshub. News Hub. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
- ^ "Roundup: Animated Nativity short; Bethlehem speaks; "Glory in the Darkest Place"; Norwegian jazz; gilding goldfinch". Art & Theology. 21 December 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2018.
- ^ "Unholy row over New Zealand Mary and Joseph billboard". BBC News. 17 December 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
- ^ "Joseph and Mary in Bed Poster Causes Stir". www.cbsnews.com. 17 December 2009. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ Harvey, Helen (23 December 2022). "Christmas or Marxist? The cathedral artwork that's got people talking". Stuff. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ "Because real change can start with just one meal". Auckland City Mission. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ "Auckland's church leaders on what to think about this Christmas". NZ Herald. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ "Christmas Season 2022: 'We can become God's presence to others' - Vatican News". www.vaticannews.va. 20 December 2022. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
- ^ "Christmas spending surpasses last year, reaching $8.6 billion". Stuff. 24 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- ^ Dougan, Patrice (27 November 2015). "Black Friday mania to hit New Zealand". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- ^ "Black Friday sales madness sweeps country, set to break record". NZ Herald. 23 November 2018 – via www.nzherald.co.nz.
- ^ "Spending habits are changing with Kiwis spending more on Black Friday than Boxing Day". Stuff. 26 December 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- ^ "New Zealand Broadcasting Act 1989". New Zealand Parliament. Retrieved 21 December 2014.
- ^ Kirka, Danica (25 December 2021). "Queen Elizabeth set to offer particularly personal Christmas Day message". Stuff. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
- ^ Laud, Georgina (25 December 2018). "The Queen's Christmas speech FLASHBACK through the years". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 1 October 2022.
- ^ "Week-end Radio And TV". The Press. 23 December 1961. p. 15.
External links
Media related to Christmas in New Zealand at Wikimedia Commons
- Kiwi Christmas – New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage