Heritage Day

National and public holidays in South Africa National Holiday in South Africa

South AfricaThe intention of this holiday is for all South Africans to celebrate their heritage, the diversity of their beliefs and traditions and remember their struggles against Apartheid.

South Africans celebrate Heritage 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 to commemorate this 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.

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.

Heritage has defined as "that which we inherit: the sum total of wild life and scenic parks, sites of scientific or historical importance, national monuments, historic buildings, works of art, literature and music, oral traditions and museum collections together with their documentation."

(Statement issued by the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, 17 September 1996)

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