Workers did not have a holiday for Waitangi Day this year because February 6th was a Sunday. However, some foreign embassies in Wellington – the Australian, British and Canadian embassies – were closed on Monday. In some countries, if a public holiday is on a weekend, Monday is a holiday instead. In New Zealand, we do this with Christmas and New Year’s Day. If Christmas and Boxing Day fall on a weekend, the next two days are holidays. The same happens at New Year.
This year, ANZAC Day falls on Easter Monday which is a holiday, so instead of two days holiday, workers have only one day: April 25th. We usually have 11 days public holidays a year but this year we will have only nine.
John Key said he will listen to arguments about making Monday a holiday when Waitangi Day falls on a weekend. However, he said there are problems. If the Treaty of Waitangi was signed in 1840 on February 6th, how can you celebrate it on the 7th? ANZAC Day is a day to remember the soldiers who were killed on April 25th in the First World War. How can we change the day to April 26th?
Questions
1. If Waitangi Day was called New Zealand National Day, could we celebrate it on 7th February?
2. February 6th is not the best time for a public holiday. Schools have just started. Auckland, Wellington and Nelson have their Anniversary holiday in late January. There are no public holidays in March, May, July, August or September. If we had a New Zealand national day, when is the best time?
3. How many public holidays does your country have? Do we have too many in New Zealand? |