When are the remaining public holidays for South Africa in 2017?

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When are the remaining public holidays for South Africa in 2017?

With just three months left of 2017, it’s important to know when you can have a worry-free lie in

When are the remaining public holidays for South Africa in 2017?

Pixabay

Save the date. If you are one of those people who forgets when you can legally avoid work and stay in bed, we hear you. So we’ve put together all the important public holidays remaining in South Africa in 2017.

You’ve got a license to lounge coming within the next few weeks thanks to Heritage Day, and there’s our standard pre-Christmas Day of Reconciliation to remember what this country has fought for.

We also have a list of religious holidays coming up between now and January. You can’t say we don’t look after you here at TheSouthAfrican…

When are the remaining public holidays for South Africa in 2017?
(Pixabay)

Public Holidays in South Africa 2017

(Secular)

Sunday 24th September: Heritage Day
Monday 25th September: Heritage Day observed as a public holiday

Saturday 16th December: Day of Reconciliation

What is the Day of Reconciliation?

It is the day that celebrates the fall of apartheid and the new dawn of South Africa’s democracy. The holiday was created as a goodwill gesture which aimed to encourage racial harmony and equality between all people.

The date 16th December holds huge significance for all of SA’s diverse communities:

  • For Afrikaaners, it commemorates the victory over the Zulus by the Voortrekker’s on in 1838 at the Battle of Blood River.
  • For Africans, it was the date of an enormous protest against racial discrimination back in 1910.
  • Furthermore, it was this day in 1961 that saw the first sabotage and violent resistence committed against the apartheid regime by Umkhonto we Sizwe – the armed branch of the ANC.

Why is Heritage day important?

It was created for South African’s to celebrate their cultural identity. With a country as diverse as this, there is no specific way to ‘be’ a resident of SA: You just follow what you feel in your heart. Now isn’t that how it should be?

Got a bit of time off? Or will you be in SA during any of these holidays? Why not plan a day down at the V&A Waterfront, using our handy guide to SA’s most visited tourist attraction.

What date does Christmas fall on in 2017?

Sunday 24th December – Christmas Eve
Monday 25th December – Christmas Day
Tuesday 26th December – Day of Goodwill

In what promises to be the least ‘Monday’ Monday ever, Christmas falls right at the start of the week. Along with the Day of Goodwill, they will always be observed as public holidays.

Christmas Eve isn’t defined as a public holiday, and it is an employer’s discretion as to whether their staff work or not, and for how long. However, with it falling on a Sunday this year, it’ll save a few headaches for a lot of HR departments

What day is New Year’s Eve on?

Sunday 31st December 2017 – New Year’s Eve
Monday 1st January 2018 – New Year’s Day

Other Religious Holidays in SA

Wednesday 20th SeptemberNavaratri: Hindu Holiday
Friday 22nd SeptemberMuharram: Islamic New Year
Saturday 30th SeptemberDussehra: Hindu Holiday
Friday 1st DecemberProphet’s Birthday – Islam