Waitangi Day

Waitangi day is when NZ celebrates the the treaty that signed NZ over to the queen.    I'm not sure exactly why they make such a big celebration out of it.  If I was maori I certainly wouldn't be stoked to remember this day.  Apparently here's the story:  The europeans were losing pretty badly to the maoris so they figured they'd write up a peace treaty.  When they translated it to maori, there was no word for "sovereignty" so they used a word that meant the maoris and the whites would share the land and live together.  So the maoris were fine with that and all the chiefs signed it and the Europeans sneakily claimed NZ. So like I said, I wouldn't be hardcore celebrating today if I was maori.  But I am happy for Waitangi Day because all the shops had really good sales. :D