Heritage Day (; ) is a South African

public holiday A public holiday, national holiday, or legal holiday is a holiday generally established by law and is usually a non-working day during the year. Sovereign nations and territories observe holidays based on events of significance to their history ...

celebrated on 24 September. On this day, South Africans are encouraged to celebrate their culture and the

diversity Diversity, diversify, or diverse may refer to: Business *Diversity (business), the inclusion of people of different identities (ethnicity, gender, age) in the workforce *Diversity marketing, marketing communication targeting diverse customers * ...

of their beliefs and traditions, in the wider context of a nation that belongs to all its people.

History

In KwaZulu-Natal, 24 September was known as Shaka Day for most people, in commemoration of

Shaka Shaka kaSenzangakhona ( – 22 September 1828), also known as Shaka Zulu () and Sigidi kaSenzangakhona, was the king of the Zulu Kingdom from 1816 to 1828. One of the most influential monarchs of the Zulu, he ordered wide-reaching reforms that ...

, the Zulu king of southern Africa, on the presumed date of his death on this date 1828. Shaka played an important role in uniting the disparate Zulu clans into cohesive nations. Each year people gather at the

Shaka Memorial The Shaka Memorial is a provincial heritage site in Stanger in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. It marks the resting place of the Zulu King Shaka near the site where he was assassinated by his half-brothers Dingane and Mhlangana whi ...

to honor him on this day. The Public Holidays Bill presented to the post-

Apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

Parliament of South Africa in 1996 did not include 24 September on the list of proposed public holidays. As a result of this exclusion, the

Inkatha Freedom Party The Inkatha Freedom Party ( zu, IQembu leNkatha yeNkululeko, IFP) is a right-wing political party in South Africa. The party has been led by Velenkosini Hlabisa since the party's 2019 National General Conference. Mangosuthu Buthelezi founded ...

(IFP), a South African political party with a large Zulu membership, objected to the bill. Parliament and the ANC reached a compromise and the day was given its present title and accepted as a public holiday now known as heritage day:

Celebration

South Africans celebrate the day by remembering the cultural heritage of the many cultures that make up the population of South Africa. Various events are staged throughout the country such as braai to commemorate/remember this day. Former

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

Provincial Premier

Ebrahim Rasool Ebrahim Rasool (born 15 July 1962) is a South African politician and diplomat who served as the South African Ambassador to the United States from 2010 to 2015, as a Member of the National Assembly from 2009 to 2010, and as the 5th Premier of th ...

addressed the public at a Heritage Day celebration at the Gugulethu Heritage trail in 2007 in Gugulethu. In

Hout Bay Hout Bay ( af, Houtbaai, meaning "Wood Bay") is a harbour town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It is situated in a valley on the Atlantic seaboard of the Cape Peninsula, twenty kilometres south of Cape Town. The name "Hout Bay" can ...

, there is an army procession and a recreation of the battle fought there. In 2005, Jan Scannell (known as "Jan Braai") started a media campaign proposing that the holiday will be renamed as a National Braai Day, in commemoration of the culinary tradition of informal backyard barbecues, known as braais. On 5 September 2007, Archbishop Desmond Tutu celebrated his appointment as

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of South Africa's Braai Day, affirming it to be a unifying force in a divided country (by donning an apron and enthusiastically eating a

boerewors Boerewors, () is a type of sausage which originated in South Africa. It is an important part of South African, Zimbabwean, Botswana and Namibian cuisine and is popular across Southern Africa. The name is derived from the Afrikaans words ("far ...

sausage). In 2008, the initiative received the endorsement of South Africa's National Heritage Council. Scannell said that the aim is to hold small events with friends and family, and not to have a mass braai. The holiday is celebrated by wearing traditional clothes.

References

External links

Heritage Day 2020
at the

South African Government The Republic of South Africa is a parliamentary republic with three-tier system of government and an independent judiciary, operating in a parliamentary system. Legislative authority is held by the Parliament of South Africa. Executive authori ...

website
National Braai Day
{{South Africa Holidays Public holidays in South Africa September observances South African culture Spring (season) events in South Africa