What does Heritage Day really

What does Heritage Day really mean to South Africans?

Apart from getting the day off work, what is Heritage Day really about, and why do we celebrate it?

What does Heritage Day really

The 24th of September, or Heritage Day, is one of South Africa’s newest public holidays, only being declared a holiday after the first democratic elections in 1994, and first observed as a holiday in 1996.

Why does Heritage Day fall on the 24 September?

Prior to 1994, the day was commemorated in KZN as Shaka Day and was a day that used to acknowledge the Zulu leader, King Shaka Zulu.

In 1995, when 24 September was omitted from the proposed Public Holidays Bill before parliament, the Inkatha Freedom Party objected.

In order to reach a compromise, a day was decided upon that would celebrate the country’s cultural unity and diversity – Heritage Day.

“The day is one of our newly created public holidays and its significance rests in recognising aspects of South African culture which are both tangible and difficult to pin down: creative expression, our historical inheritance, language, the food we eat as well as the land in which we live,” said the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology in 1996.

“Within a broader social and political context, the day’s events are a powerful agent for promulgating a South African identity, fostering reconciliation and promoting the notion that variety is a national asset as opposed to igniting conflict.”

Nelson Mandela’s thoughts on Heritage Day

The first official Heritage Day in 1996 was marked with these words by Nelson Mandela:

“When our first democratically elected government decided to make Heritage Day one of our national days, we did so because we knew that our rich and varied cultural heritage has a profound power to help build our new nation.

“We did so knowing that the struggles against the injustice and inequities of the past are part of our national identity; they are part of our culture. We knew that, if indeed our nation has to rise like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes of division and conflict, we had to acknowledge those whose selfless efforts and talents were dedicated to this goal of non-racial democracy.”