By MATHEW DEARNALEY
Thank goodness for Waitangi Day.
Many of us will be cooling off at the beach, catching up on home maintenance or just idling our day away however we darn well choose.
But does today's public holiday mean more to most New Zealanders than just another day off work?
Other countries celebrate their national days with bells, whistles and great gusto. Cascading firework displays are de rigueur on France's Bastille Day and on many other national holidays around the world.
Battles from the Revolutionary War are re-enacted on Independence Day in the United States, July 4, and last year an 18km line of warships sailed past New York Harbour.
In Florida, at Disney World, a 7m-high cherry pie weighing 1.5 tonnes and dressed up as the Star-Spangled Banner was dished out to all-comers.
Indonesians hold months of sports competitions in the runup to their Merdeka (Freedom) Day on August 17 celebrating their independence from Dutch rule. All activities stop at midnight for national prayers.
As for the Irish, they have managed to export St Patrick's Day to millions of people throughout the world - sometimes with the most tenuous links to the Emerald Isle.
They have so much fun that they have succeeded in stringing out their celebrations to a full week of March.
But here in New Zealand, many of us are ambivalent if not downright cynical about the day that is supposed to help to bind us together as a nation.
Protesters' behaviour at Waitangi, site of the signing of our treaty of nationhood in 1840, has prompted a virtual boycott by our political leaders and calls by some people for another date to be designated as Aotearoa-New Zealand's national day.
Prime Minister Helen Clark, stung by a challenge in 1998 to her right as a woman to speak on the Waitangi Marae, says she will return only when she can be assured that commemorations will be "dignified."
When did Waitangi Day become a holiday?
The idea was kicked around for many years. Labour promised in its 1957 election policy to commemorate the signing of the treaty on February 6 by declaring a national public holiday.
But three years later Labour Prime Minister Walter Nash was worrying that it would cost the nation £500,000 a year.
The Waitangi Day Bill introduced in 1960 provided for the observance of the day as one of commemoration but did not make it a public holiday.
Under legislation in 1963, Northland became the only province authorised to observe Waitangi Day as a paid public holiday, treating it as the Northland anniversary day.
By 1970, Northland was in confusion: most Whangarei retailers stayed shut on Monday, February 2, having Mondayised the holiday. Northland schools shut on February 6 and county and borough councils all made their own decisions.
But the mood was changing. Several hundred mill workers at Kinleith took an unpaid holiday to mark Waitangi Day in 1971 and wharfies followed the next year.
Finally, the Kirk Labour Government decided it was worth declaring a national day, feeling that all nations need to express independence and nationhood in a national holiday.
Why don't we look for a less emotionally charged and controversial day to assert our nationhood?
Maori issues writer Michael King said from the United States yesterday that Waitangi Day should be retained as a day on which we should take stock of race relations and the health of the partnership between Maori and the Crown.
But he suggested on National Radio that another day be set aside for more joyous celebrations of nationhood, similar to those indulged in by other countries.
His suggestion cut little ice with Race Relations Conciliator Dr Rajen Prasad, who told the Herald that changing the date was unlikely to improve our sense of national identity.
There was no getting round the fact that February 6, 1840, was the day the Treaty of Waitangi was signed by the Crown and Ngapuhi chiefs.
That was our genesis as a nation, and Dr Prasad doubted whether creating any other national day would give us any greater sense of pride and achievement.
Waitangi Day Commemorations Committee co-chairman Pita Paraone certainly opposes setting aside another day for "bells and whistles" celebrations.
This would doom Waitangi Day to a time of sombreness, he says, when it should be a day of gratitude for descendants of both parties to the treaty.
His ancestors, by signing the treaty, gave a licence for all subsequent settlers in this country to be here. And he acknowledged that the settlers brought "some value" to this country, despite the various less benign aspects of European colonisation.
Why are many of us so half-hearted about Waitangi Day?
Dr Prasad, who will be at Waitangi today despite the absence of Helen Clark and the Navy, is anxious to chose his words carefully but thinks our attitude reflects a number of things that we as a nation have not yet done.
"We haven't exactly focused on our relationships as a country," he suggests.
"We need to develop far more exactly our identity. There are bits of our identity we can agree on, for example sports and our DIY approach, but we still have some way to go to resolve matters that relate to our founding document."
Dr Prasad says we have to develop a far more intensive knowledge about our history, as a precursor to finding our place as a Pacific nation.
Mr Paraone says there should be room for all New Zealanders on Waitangi Day to express their feelings about nationhood, even if through protest.
But he is saddened that many people, even his own brother, choose to shy away from Waitangi because of past protests and fear of what might happen.
He understands why Helen Clark has chosen not to attend, but believes nobody can ignore the fact that the treaty was signed there, making it the most important site for national commemorations.
What do new migrants think and are they celebrating Waitangi Day?
Migrant communities in Auckland are holding at least three events to commemorate Waitangi Day.
Five hundred new settlers were treated to a hangi lunch on Saturday at a Waitangi multicultural celebration organised by the Manukau migrant centre, Maori and community groups.
The North Shore migrant centre has been invited to take part in the official Awataha Marae commemoration in Northcote today, and ethnic community leaders will attend a new "marae experience" at Te Puea Memorial Marae in Mangere Bridge.
New settlers can also learn about the treaty in a Waitangi Day video screening on Triangle Television at 9 pm, and seminars on the founding document will be held throughout the month.
How do other countries celebrate their national days?
Australians appear to have fewer reservations about celebrating the settlement of Sydney Cove by Europeans, even though January 26 has been dubbed "invasion day" by some Aboriginal groups.
It was not until 1994, however, that all the states and territories endorsed that day as Australia Day.
The day is marked by flag-raising, citizenship ceremonies and community awards, with polls showing that a majority of Australians now view it as a significant and important event.
France mixes the solemnity of military parades with the merriment of fireworks, music and bistro gatherings wrapped up in great feelings of patriotism.
Above all, says the Encyclopaedia Britannica, Bastille Day on July 14 marks the end of the monarchy and beginning of the French republic.
Singapore commemorates National Day on August 9, when there are massive air and fireworks displays and public servants gather to sing the national anthem.
Others party on national day, so why don't we?
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