To many people Queen’s Birthday simply means an extra day off work and a long weekend, but what exactly is Queen’s Birthday all about? And why is it never held on the actual date of The Queen’s birth?

While New Zealand celebrations commemorating the birth of The Queen traditionally fall on the first Monday in June each year, The Queen was actually born on April 21, 1926. The Queen’s official birthday is celebrated on a different day in each of her Commonwealth countries, and none of these celebrate it on the same date every year. If you’re confused, you’re not the only one.

The tradition of having an official Queen’s Birthday date begun centuries ago, when outdoor celebrations to commemorate the birth of Monarchs with winter birthdays were ruined by cold, wet weather. The official celebrations of their birthdays were shifted to warmer summer months when parades and marches would be more welcome.

Which is ironic, given commonwealth countries in the Southern Hemisphere like New Zealand and Australia still celebrate Queen’s Birthday about the same time as in the Northern Hemisphere, which happens to be in our winter.

It may be a confusing holiday, but thanks to Her Majesty The Queen all of New Zealand’s working public are entitled to a public holiday paid day off or paid day in lieu on Monday 1 June this year in accordance with the Holidays Act.

Who wouldn’t want to celebrate that?

You’ve still got a few days until Easter Sunday or organise your Easter treats. What do you have planned? Make sure before you and your family dig into the indulgent side of Easter you understand the meaning of Easter and why it is celebrated.

While Easter is a fun time for kids, adults can indulge in a little chocolate too. Check out the chocolate shops on NZS.com for some inspiration!

If are keen on making your own Easter eggs (it’s easier than it sounds) check out our Easter egg recipes. For those who want to enjoy Easter without the super-sweet tooth, how about some homemade hot cross buns? Easter baking isn’t restricted to chocolate, so get the oven firing this weekend.

Image from Flickr.

Ready for a weekend of national pride? It’s Waitangi Day weekend at the end of the week, meaning three days off for every New Zealander and a vast array of cultural activities happening around the country.

The Ministry of Culture and Heritage has allocated $276,500 of Government funding for Waitangi Day events throughout New Zealand. These grants, given to encourage Kiwis to participate in our national day, will fund 63 official events throughout the country.

Ranging from multicultural community festivals to formal dawn karakia, the full list of events can be found at the Ministry of Culture and Heritage website.

The biggest event as always will be the official Waitangi Commemorations Committee ceremony in the namesake Northland location, with a program of events including dawn karakia, flag raising, waka karakia, sports events, 21 gun salute, waka ki uta and a sunset ceremony. This programme received the most funding of all Waitangi Day events with $82,000 allocated to it.

Image from Flickr.

Got plans for the long weekend in the city of sails? The Auckland weather is looking positive this weekend with 25 degree highs all around – so make sure you get out and enjoy it!

Auckland anniversary weekend is always a huge event, this year with some amazing things happening around the city. Check out the Fire and Light Show tonight, The Seafood Festival running all weekend, the Viaduct Showcase on Sunday and finally, the famous Auckland Regatta on Monday.

The Auckland Regatta is the largest single-day regatta in the world, and is even older than the America’s Cup. It’s been going since Auckland was founded, so get out to the harbour on the 26th and watch with city-wide pride!

We’ve got a stream of public holidays over the next month, with Auckland Anniversary coming up on January 26, Nelson Anniversary on February 2 and of course Waitangi Day on February 6. The coming Monday is a privileged day for two regions in New Zealand: it’s both Southland Anniversary and Wellington Anniversary.

There are two great events for families going on for the big day in our capital city. There’s the Wellington Anniversary Family Day Races, which features all of the typical horse racing entertainment for the adults, while providing heaps of fun stuff for kids to do – from a petting zoo to face paints, watermelon eating competitions to a Vertical Bungy.

It’s also Whanau day at Te Papa museum, which invites adults and kids to dress up together, Victorian-style, and take a trip back in time to Wellington in 1840.

Enjoy the Wellington weather this weekend, take the kids out, and have some fun!

Lucky Southerners have a long weekend to look forward to this weekend with Southland Anniversary Day on its way! There’s been a bit of historical controversy around the Southland Anniversary – but Jan 19 officially marks the date and paid public day off for everyone in the Southland region in 2009.

On passing the New Zealand Constitutional Act, the marked out district of Southland did not hold sufficient population or income to be selected as one of the six regions for Provincial Government, and was thus considered a part of Otago. It celebrated the first Otago anniversary on March 23^rd in 1852, and it wasn’t until 9 years later (after a large campaign and petition) that Southland’s first regional anniversary was recognised.

However as Southland fortunes slipped below Government criteria, the region was forced to revert back to the Otago Anniversary in 1870. In 1875, the Provincial Government model was abolished in New Zealand in favour of one Central Government, and the official Southland Anniversary date was set. It has not changed since, and is now celebrated on the Monday closest to January 17 – the anniversary of the day that the intention to build the town of Invercargill was announced.