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Matariki 2026
Friday 10 July 2026
A Friday in June or July fixed for each year by the Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Act 2022, following the Māori lunar calendar.
In 2026, Matariki falls on Friday 10 July 2026 in New Zealand. It is a Friday, so it gives at least a three-day weekend. For comparison, the 2027 date is Friday 25 June 2027.
Dates in 2026
Friday 10 July 2026
About Matariki
Matariki is the Māori New Year, marked by the rising of the Matariki star cluster (the Pleiades) in midwinter. It became a New Zealand public holiday under the Te Kāhui o Matariki Public Holiday Act 2022 and was first observed on 24 June 2022.
Its date follows the Māori lunar calendar, so it moves between late June and mid-July. The Act does not give a formula: a schedule fixes the date for each year from 2022 to 2052, as recommended by the Matariki Advisory Group, and every date is a Friday. The holiday therefore always gives a three-day weekend and never falls on a Saturday or Sunday, so it never needs a substitute day.
Matariki is the only New Zealand public holiday set by a table rather than a fixed date or a weekday rule. It is a national holiday, counted in the New Zealand working-day totals on this site, and it is the only public holiday between King's Birthday in early June and Labour Day in late October.