SOUTH AFRICAN PUBLIC HOLIDAYS CALENDAR 2024/2025

South Africa has 12 public holidays as determined by the Public Holidays Act (Act No 36 of 1994) [PDF]. The Act determines whenever any public holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday following on it shall be a public holiday.

The dates on which Good Friday and Easter Sunday fall are determined according to the ecclesiastical moon. That varies each year but they fall at some point between late March and late April.

Southern African Public Holidays
South African School Holidays

The information on this page has been compiled to the best of our abilities. Please note that the publishers of this website, Blaauwberg Online cc and any of its employees, do not take any responsibility for any errors that may occur in the data below.

SOUTH AFRICAN PUBLIC HOLIDAYS CALENDAR

2024 2025
New Year's Day
Monday 01 January
Wednesday 01 January
Human Rights Day Tuesday 21 March Friday 21 March
Good Friday Friday 29 March Friday 18 April
Family Day Monday 01 April Monday 21 April
Freedom Day Saturday 27 April Sunday 27 April
Public Holiday   Monday 28 April
Workers Day Monday 01 May Thursday 01 May
Youth Day Sunday 16 June Monday 16 June
Public Holiday Monday 16 June  
Women's Day Friday 09 August Saturday 09 August
Heritage Day Tuesday 24 September Wednesday 24 September
Day of Reconciliation Monday 16 December Tuesday 16 December
Christmas Day Wednesday 25 December Thursday 25 December
Day of Goodwill Thursday 26 December Friday 26 December

The dates on which Good Friday and Easter Sunday fall are determined according to the ecclesiastical moon. That varies each year but they fall at some point between late March and late April.

21 March [Human Rights Day]

The Bill of Rights contained in the Constitution is the cornerstone of democracy in South Africa.

The Constitution provides for the establishment of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC). The aim of the Commission is to promote respect for human rights, promote the protection, development and attainment of human rights, and to monitor and assess the observance of human rights in SA. The SAHRC was launched on 21 March 1996, 35 years after the fateful events of 21 March 1960 when demonstrators in Sharpeville were gunned down by police.

The Native Laws Amendment Act of 1952 extended Government control over the movement of Africans to urban areas and abolished the use of the Pass Book (a document which Africans were required to carry on them to 'prove' that they were allowed to enter a 'white area') in favour of a reference book which had to be carried at all times by all Africans.

Failure to produce the reference book on demand by the police, was a punishable offence. The Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) proposed an anti-Pass campaign to start on 21 March 1960. All African men were to take part in the campaign without their passes and present themselves for arrest.

Campaigners gathered at police stations in townships near Johannesburg where they were dispersed by police. At the Sharpeville police station a scuffle broke out. Part of a wire fence was trampled, allowing the crowd to move forward. The police opened fire, apparently without having been given a prior order to do so. Sixty-nine people were killed and 180 wounded.

In apartheid South Africa this day became known as Sharpeville Day and although not part of the official calendar of public holidays the event was commemorated among anti-apartheid movements.

27 April [Freedom Day]

Freedom Day commemorates the first democratic elections held in South Africa on 27 April 1994. Read more about Freedom Day celebrations.

16 June [Youth Day]

In 1975 protests started in African schools after a directive from the then Bantu Education Department that Afrikaans had to be used on an equal basis with English as a language of instruction in secondary schools. The issue, however, was not so much the Afrikaans as the whole system of Bantu education which was characterised by separate schools and universities, poor facilities, overcrowded classrooms and inadequately trained teachers. On 16 June 1976 more than 20 000 pupils from Soweto began a protest march. In the wake of clashes with the police, and the violence that ensued during the next few weeks, approximately 700 hundred people, many of them youths, were killed and property destroyed.

Youth Day, previously known as Soweto Day, commemorates these events.

More information.

9 August [National Women's Day]

This day commemorates 9 August 1956 when women participated in a national march to petition against pass laws (legislation that required African persons to carry a document on them to 'prove' that they were allowed to enter a 'white area').

More information

24 September [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.

"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)

In an address marking Heritage Day in 1996, (former) President Mandela stated:

"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."

Government determines a theme for each year's celebrations.

More on Heritage Day

16 December [Day of Reconciliation]

In apartheid South Africa 16 December was known as Day of the Vow, as the Voortrekkers in preparation for the battle on 16 December against the Zulus took a Vow before God that they would build a church and that they and their descendants would observe the day as a day of thanksgiving should they be granted victory. With the advent of democracy in South Africa 16 December retained its status as a public holiday, however, this time with the purpose of fostering reconciliation and national unity.

During the earlier part of the 19th century, many Afrikaner farmers left the eastern cape and moved inland. Among them was the Voortrekkers, a group of Afrikaners protesting British colonialism and seeking independent republics on what was reputedly empty land. But the land was not empty and clashes between these Afrikaners and indigenous peoples were inevitable.

Late in 1837 one of the Voortrekker leaders, Piet Retief, entered into negotiations for land with Dingane, the Zulu king. In terms of the negotiations Dingane promised the Voortrekkers land on condition they returned cattle to him stolen by Sekonyela (the Tlokwa chief). This Retief did and apparently he and Dingane signed a treaty on 6 February 1838. During the ceremony Dingane had Retief and his entourage murdered - an event which was witnessed by Francis Owen, a missionary who described the scene in his diary.

In ensuing battles between Zulus and Voortrekkers over the next few months numerous lives were lost on both sides.

On 16 December 1838 about 10 000 troops under the command of Dambuza (Nzobo) and Nhlela attacked the Voortrekkers, but the 470 Voortrekkers, with the advantage of gun powder, warded them off. Only three Voortrekkers were wounded, but more than 3 000 Zulus were killed during the battle.

Source: http://www.gov.za/about-sa/public-holidays

IMPORTANT SOCIAL DAYS

2024 2025
Chinese New Year Saturday 10 February Wednesday 29 January
St. Valentine's Day Wednesday 14 February Friday 14 February
St. Patrick's Day Sunday 17 March Monday 17 March
March Equinox Wednesday 20 March Thursday 20 March
Mother's Day Sunday 12 May Sunday 11 May
Father's Day Sunday 16 June Sunday 15 June
June Solstice Thursday 20 June Saturday 21 June
National Secretary's Day Wednesday 04 September Wednesday 03 September
September Equinox Sunday 22 September Monday 22 September
National Boss's Day Wednesday 16 October Thursday 16 October
Halloween Thursday 31 October Friday 31 October
Guy Fawkes Tuesday 05 November Wednesday 05 November
Thanksgiving Day Thursday 28 November Thursday 27 November
Black Friday Friday 29 November Friday 28 November
December Solstice Saturday 22 December Sunday 21 December

RELIGIOUS HOLY DAYS 2024

CHRISTIAN HOLY DAYS CALENDAR 2024
Epiphany Day Satrurday 06 January
Baptism of the Jesus Day Sunday 07 January
Candlemas Day Friday 02 February
St. Valentine's Day Wednesday 14 February
Ash Wednesday Wednesday 14 February
St. Patrick's Day Sunday 17 March
St. Joseph's Day Tuesday 19 March
Palm Sunday Sunday 24 March
Maundy (Holy) Thursday Thursday 28 March
Good Friday Friday 29 March
Easter Sunday Sunday 31 March
Easter Monday Monday 01 April
Ascension Day Thursday 09 May
Pentecost Day Sunday 19 May
Whit Monday Monday 20 May
Trinity Sunday Sunday 26 May
Corpus Christi Day Thursday 30 May
Saints Peter and Paul Day Saturday 29 June
Saint Vladimir Day Monday 15 July
St. James the Great Day Friday 25 July
The Assumption of Mary Day Thursday 15 August
Holy Cross Day Saturday 14 September
Michael and All Angels Day Sunday 29 September
All Hallows Eve Friday 31 October
All Saints Day Friday 01 November
All Souls Day Saturday 02 November
Advent Sunday (commence) Sunday 01 December
Christ the King Day Monday 24 November
St. Andrew's Day Saturday 30 November
St. Nicholas Day Friday 06 December
Christmas Eve Tuesday 24 December
Christmas Day Wednesday 25 December
Holy Innocents Day Saturday 28 December
Watch Night Tuesday 31 December

JEWISH
HOLY DAYS CALENDAR 2024
Please note that all the Holy Days begin at sunset on the previous and end at nightfall
Tu-B'shvat Wednesday 24 January - Thursday 25 January
Fast of Esther Thursday 21 March
Purim Thursday 23 March - Sunday 24March
Pesach (Day 1-8) Monday 22 April - Wednesday 30 April
Yom Hazikaron Sunday 12 May - Monday 13 May
Yom Ha'atzmaut Monday 13 May - Tuesday 14 May
Lag B' Omer Saturday 25 May - Sunday 26 May
Yom Yerushalayim Tuesday 04 June - Wednesday 05 June
Shavuot Tuesday 11 June - Thursday 13 June
Fast of Tammuz Tuesday 23 July
Tish B'Av (Fast of 10th of Av) Monday 12 August - Tuesday 13 August
Rosh Hashanah (1st Day) Wednesday 02 October - Friday 04 October
Fast of Gedalya Saturday 05 October
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) Friday 11 October - Saturday 12 October
Sukkot Wednesday 16 October - Wednesday 23 October
Hoshana Rabbah Tuesday 22 October - Wednesday 23 October
Shemini Atzeret Wednesday 23 October - Friday 25 October
Shimchat Torah Thursday 24 October - Friday 25 October
Fast of Tevet Friday 22 December
Hanukkah (1st Day) Thursday 25 December - Frifay 02 January

ISLAMIC HOLY DAYS
CALENDAR 2024
Islamic fasts and festivals are determined by an actual sighting of the appropriate new moon.
Laylat Al Miraj (eve) Tuesday 06 February - Wednesday 07 February
Lailat al Bara'ah Saturday 24 February- Sunday 25 February
Ramadaan Saturday 09 March - Monday 08 April
Laylat al Qadr Saturday 06 April
Eid-Ul-Fitr Tuesday 09 April - Wednesday 10 April
Waqf al Arafa - Hajj Saturday 15 June - Sunday 16 June
Eid-Ul-Adgha Sunday 16 June - Thursday 20 June
Al Hijra - Islamic New Year Saturday 06 July
Day of Ashura / Muharram Tuesday 16 July
Milad un Nabi Sunday 15 September - Monday 16 September
HINDU HOLY DAYS CALENDAR 2024
Makarsankranti / Pongal Monday 15 January
Thaipusam Thursday 25 January
Vasant Panchami Wednesday 14 February
Maha Shivaratri Friday 08 March
Hindi New Year Wednesday 20 March
Holika Dahan Sunday 24 March
Holi Monday 25 March
Ugadi / Gudi Padwa / Telugu New Year Tuesday 09 April
Vaisakhi / Baisakhi / Vishu Saturday 13 April
Ramanavami Wednesday 17 April
Vaisakhi / Baisakhi / Vishu Saturday 13 April
Tamil New Year Saturday 13 April
Bengali New Year / Bihu Sunday 14 April
Ramanavami Wednesday 17 April
Akshaya Tritiya Friday 10 May
Savitri Pooja Thursday 06 June
Puri Rath Yatra Sunday 07 July
Guru Purnima Sunday 21 July
Nag Panchami Friday 09 August
Varalakshmi Vrat Friday 16 August
Raksha Bandhan Monday 19 August
Krishna Janmashtami Monday 26 August
Onam Thursday 05 September - Tuesday 17 September
Ganesh Chaturthi Monday 16 September
Vishwakarma Puja Wednesday 17 September
Mahalaya Amavasya Wednesday 02 October
Navaratri begins Thursday 03 October
Navaratri ends / Maha Navami Saturday 12 October
Dusshera Sunday 12 October
Sharad Purnima Wednesday 16 October
Karwa Chauth Sunday 20 October
Dhanteras Tuesday 29 October
Diwali Friday 01 November
Bhai Dooj Sunday 03 November
Chhath Puja Thursday 07 November
Kartik Poornima Friday 15 November
Gita Jayanti Wednesday 11 December
Dhanu Sankranti Sunday 15 December