Every June, schools throughout New Zealand celebrate the Maori New Year festival of Matariki with cultural performances and exhibitions of art using traditional designs. Matariki is the name for the Pleiades, whose winter rising in the southern sky heralds the start of the new year.&amp;nbsp;In Hawaiian, the constellation is called Makali‘i, and its appearance  in the northern sky in winter sparked a similar new year's celebration (Makahiki)  in ancient times, which is being revived in the islands today. Photo: Becky Nunes