On Thursday morning the bands in the street will blast forth cheerful music as they lead the singing throngs from party to party, as doors are flung open in welcome and champagne corks fly through the air with not a care about whom they hit.
Yes, it will be New Zealand Day.
Joy will be unconfined as people from all parts of the motu gather at Waitangi to share aroha and friendly banter in a display of mutual, undying affection as all races gather to confirm that we are all one people, joined in arohanui and teina.
Yes indeed. We are a fortunate people. National poet Fred Dagg said it all:
So, when things are looking really bad And you're thinking of giving it away Remember, New Zealands a cracker
And I reckon come what may If things get appallingly bad And were all under constant attack Remember, we want to see good clean ball And for Gods sake, feed your backs.
We dont know how lucky we are (repeat x 10).
Of course, there's a danger of self-delusion here and we need to compare New Zealand with other countries before we become too complacent.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network produces an annual World Happiness Report which has been topped by Finland for the last six years. But have you ever met a really happy, laughing, relaxed Finn?
New Zealand comes in at spot 10, behind countries like Israel and Denmark.
An up-to-date report may well have both those countries just a little unhappy. One fighting with a neighbour and the other afraid of being Trumped.
Denmark's second placing was based on citizens paying up to half of their income in taxes but having mostly free healthcare, free university tuition, subsidised childcare and pensions for the elderly.
It is worth noting that in the happiness stakes New Zealanders over 60 came in at sixth, probably a reflection of last year's generous weekly pension boost of $10, reported last week to be the going rate for a cup of coffee in the big cities.
Forbes magazine puts New Zealand at No9 on Best Countries Overall list while another poll listing the World's Best Countries to Live in for Quality of Life has us at No 17. That these surveys and polls, based on myriad criteria, vary so wildly is of no real concern.
In most cases we come in ahead of Australia which is what matters, although one survey which had us four places behind Australia explained the aberration this way, "This is mainly due to Australia being seen as a more powerful player on the world stage and offering richer heritage. It also has the edge on quality of life, though the scores are close for both countries.
When we drill down a little deeper, it seems Australia is perceived as having a much stronger jobs market than New Zealand, as being more entrepreneurial, more modern, and being more economically stable."
We could quibble over much of that but let's focus on the positives.
Transparency International calls us one of the least corrupt countries and the Fraser Institute ranked us No 1 overall in Ease of Doing Business including No1 in the category of Starting a Business and Getting Credit and our Political Freedom rating for political rights and civil liberties was No1.
In 2016 (under a Labour government) the Legatum Global Prosperity Index ranked New Zealand as the most prosperous country in the world but listed us at No10 in 2023 (under the present government).
It was also under Labour in 2007 and 2008 that Wanderlust Magazine gave us the Top Country Award. These crucial rankings will be mentioned by Labour at the next election.
These international comparisons can be pretty dodgy as can be seen in the Economist Global Cities Liveability Index which has Auckland in its top 10!
The local academics who produce The Conversation's website have summed New Zealand's performance: "The final verdict has to be a satisfactory to good effort, but considerable room for improvement."
So, don't be hoodwinked by the euphoria of New Zealand Day. As you gather round the barbecue and open another bottle of refreshment in moderation remember there are still hospitals to be built, pot holes to be filled in and some sort of ferry service needed capable of reliably linking the two main islands of our nation.
It will be easier to be positive if you remember that we climbed Everest, split the atom and invented the rugby referee's whistle.
Indeed, we just don't know how lucky we are.
Jim Sullivan is a Patearoa writer.
