Holiday Calendar for New Zealand

New Zealanders observe 10 common national public holidays a year (also known as statutory holidays) legislated by the Holidays Act 2003. Stat holidays are mostly cultural, nationalistic, and religious holidays. Additionally all New Zealand’s provinces celebrate regional anniversary days also specified as public holidays.  Help us 

Some of the holidays, like Christmas and New Year, are ’Mondayised’ . Which means that, if the holiday occurs on a weekend then it is transferred to the following Monday or Tuesday. On Good Friday, Easter Sunday, ANZAC Day, and Christmas Day there are special trading restrictions. On those days, generally only dairies, petrol stations, pharmacies, restaurants and cafes, and shops within an airport, train station, and in some very popular tourist towns may open. Even television advertising is totally banned on those days in the country.
Provincial anniversary days celebrate the founding days or landing days of the first colonists of the various colonial provinces. These are only celebrated within each province, not nationwide. The actual observance days can vary within each province and is due to local custom, convenience or the proximity of seasonal events or other holidays and may differ from the official observance day.
There are plenty of local and national New Zealand holidays and festivals throughout the year and the ones listed below are just the tip of the iceberg: Bluff Oyster & Food Festival in May, Queenstown Winter Festival in June, Matariki Festival, Rally New Zealand in August, Gisborne Wine & Food Festival in October, Wellington International Jazz Festival in November, Auckland Marathon in October, Caroline Bay Carnival in December.