Including te reo in Counting Down

Counting Down to Christ-mas - Te Taha Taiao - Ka Tangi Te Tītī

Kia ora friends

Christmas is getting closer and our counting down will start in less than a month. Where does the time go?

You’ll hear from us a couple more times before we officially begin on 1 December. We’re almost done with the writing and putting together of each day. If you’ve counted down with me before you’ll know I do enjoy a bit of interaction and it will be no surprise that I’m looking for some help with this part of our Counting Down to Christ-mas this year.

We’d love your help

I’m hoping the centrepiece of each day will be a short video by a speaker of te reo (with a mixture of reo and english) and this is where I'm hoping if you speak te reo or you know others who do and who love Christmas, you might be able to help by making a short 1 - 4 minute video on your phone or laptop.

The vibe we’re wanting to achieve is an invitation to draw closer, as if the speaker has just popped into the listener's living room for a friendly korero. It could be the whole video is in te reo then repeated in english or it could be a mixture, leaving the listener to understand what is being said by the context of the words in te reo.

To get a feel for what this might look like I asked my friend Rebecca to make a video for us.

If you are a speaker of te reo I’d love it if you were able to make a video? If you don’t speak te reo but have a family member or friend that might be able to help out maybe you could share this post with them? There’s a button to download the list of words to choose one.

What does the video need to include?

The section is called Whakarongo/Titiro Mai (Listen/Watch) and here's a summary of what the video might include

• Introduce yourself

• Introduce the word/phrase 

• Possibly say what the word means to you or possibly say what the word means to you in the context of drawing closer to Christ-mas 

• OR saying a little bit about a favourite Christmas custom or practice, or something that brings meaning to your faith at this time of year. 

Ngā mihi nui

Caroline