The Auckland community celebrated our national day with festivities at our local park. The highlight for me was meeting the lady who designed the tino rangitiratangi flag, she explained it's meaning - the black part is a symbol of The Sky Father and the red the Earth Mother, the white inbetween is about the birth place of the people (tangata) and the aroha(holistic love)that this place holds.
Then she publicly gifted the flag to the Maori people of Aotearoa. The flag is about unity she said. What a treasure! The huge impression that lingered with me for a long time after was, what a legacy this women has given to her people, and to the Nation. Being present was so significant for me as a New Zealander, I was a witness and understood the importance of the gift first hand, being purposeful about what Waitangi Day means for me today as a person who calls New Zealand home.
Alysha and I went to the Lantern Festival to emerse ourselves in Chinese culture for the evening. We felt as though we had teleported to Shanghi with the hustle and bustle, languages and song, sights, smells and fashion - well hats mostly! I was amazed at the little lanterns that people were carrying around with them, each with their own lit candle inside, and not one fire - incredible! The place was full of colour, with bright cultural Chinese arrangements and they were wonderful hanging in the trees and all over the park in contrast with the dark night. We enjoyed watching the artists painting the lanterns but a little shocked at the $300 price tag. Finally we escaped the crowds for an evening drink and an escapade to get our car out the locked parking lot! After several attemps we managed thankfully to make it home much to our relief after having thoughts of spending the night in a concrete lot til the morning.
