SOUTH AFRICAN PUBLIC HOLIDAYS CALENDAR 2023/2024

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
	2023	2024
Chinese New Year	Sunday 22 January	Saturday 10 February
St. Valentine's Day	Tuesday 14 February	Wednesday 14 February
St. Patrick's Day	Friday 17 March	Sunday 17 March
March Equinox	Monday 20 March	Wednesday 20 March
Mother's Day	Sunday 14 May	Sunday 12 May
Father's Day	Sunday 18 June	Sunday 16 June
June Solstice	Wednesday 21 June	Thursday 20 June
National Secretary's Day	Wednesday 06 September	Wednesday 04 September
September Equinox	Saturday 23 September	Sunday 22 September
National Bosses Day	Monday 16 October	Wednesday 16 October
Halloween	Tuesday 31 October	Thursday 31 October
Guy Fawkes	Sunday 05 November	Tuesday 05 November
Thanksgiving Day	Thursday 23 November	Thursday 28 November
Black Friday	Friday 24 November	Friday 29 November
December Solstice	Friday 22 December	Saturday 22 December

CHRISTIAN HOLY DAYS CALENDAR 2023
Epiphany	Friday 06 January
Baptism of the Jesus	Sunday 08 January
Candlemas	Thursday 02 February
St. Valentine's Day	Tuesday 14 February
Ash Wednesday	Wednesday 22 February
St. Patrick's Day	Friday 17 March
St. Joseph's Day	Sunday 19 March
Palm Sunday	Sunday 02 April
Maundy (Holy) Thursday	Thursday 06 April
Good Friday	Friday 07 April
Easter Sunday	Sunday 09 April
Easter Monday	Monday 10 April
Ascension Day	Thursday 18 May
Pentecost	Sunday 28 May
Whit Monday	Monday 29 May
Trinity Sunday	Sunday 04 June
Corpus Christi	Thursday 08 June
Saints Peter and Paul	Thursday 29 June
Saint Vladimir	Saturday 15 July
St. James the Great Day	Tuesday 25 July
The Assumption of Mary	Tuesday 15 August
Holy Cross Day	Thursday 14 September
Michael and All Angels	Friday 29 September
All Hallows Eve	Tuesday 31 October
All Saints Day	Wednesday 01 November
All Souls Day	Thursday 02 November
Advent Sunday (commence)	Sunday 03 December
Christ the King	Sunday 26 November
St. Andrew's Day	Thursday 30 November
St. Nicholas Day	Wednesday 06 December
Christmas Eve	Sunday 24 December
Christmas Day	Monday 25 December
Holy Innocents	Thursday 28 December
Watch Night	Sunday 31 December
JEWISH HOLY DAYS CALENDAR 2023 Please note that all the Holy Days begin at sunset on the previous and end at nightfall
Fast of Tevet	Tuesday 03 January
Tu-B'shvat	Sunday 05 February - Monday 06 February
Fast of Esther	Monday 06 March
Purim	Monday 06 March - Tuesday 07 March
Pesach (Day 1-8)	Wednesday 05 April - Thursday 13 April
Yom Hazikaron	Monday 24 April - Tuesday 25 April
Yom Ha'atzmaut	Tuesday 25 April - Wednesday 26 April
Lag B' Omer	Monday 08 May - Tuesday 09 May
Yom Yerushalayim	Thursday 18 May - Friday 19 May
Shavuot	Thursday 25 May - Saturday 27 May
Fast of Tammuz	Wednesday 05 July - Thursday 06 July
Tish B'Av (Fast of 10th of Av)	Wednesday 26 July - Thursday 27 July
Rosh Hashanah (1st Day)	Friday 15 September - Sunday 17 September
Fast of Gedalya	Monday 18 September
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)	Sunday 24 September - Monday 25 September
Succot	Friday 29 September - Friday 06 October
Hoshana Rabbah	Thursday 05 October - Friday 06 October
Shemini Atzeret	Friday 06 October - Sunday 8 October
Shimchat Torah	Saturday 07 October - Sunday 08 October
Hanukkah (1st Day)	Monday 18 December - Tuesday 26 December
ISLAMIC HOLY DAYS CALENDAR 2023 Islamic fasts and festivals are determined by an actual sighting of the appropriate new moon.
Laylatul Meeraj (eve)	Friday 17 February - Saturday 18 February
Lailat al Bara'ah	Tuesday 07 March - Wednesday 08 March
Ramadaan	Wednesday 22 March - Friday 21 April
Lailat al Qadr	Tuesday 18 April
Eid-Ul-Fitr	Friday 21 April - Saturday 22 April
Waqf al Arafa - Hajj	Tuesday 27 June - Wednesday 28 June
Eid-Ul-Adgha	Wednesday 28 June - Thursday 29 June
Day of Ashura / Muharram	Thursday 27 July
Al Hijra - Islamic New Year	Saturday 29 July
Milad un Nabi	Tuesday 26 September - Wednesday 27 September
HINDU HOLY DAYS CALENDAR 2023
Makarsankranti / Pongal	Sunday 15 January
Vasant Panchami	Thursday 26 January
Thaipusam	Sunday 05 February
Maha Shivaratri	Saturday 18 February
Holi	Monday 06 March - Tuesday 07 March
Holika Dahan	Tuesday 07 March
Hindi New Year	Wednesday 22 March
Ugadi / Gudi Padwa / Telugu New Year	Wednesday 22 March
Ramanavami	Thursday 30 March
Hanuman Jayanti	Thursday 06 April
Vaisakhi / Baisakhi / Vishu	Friday 14 April
Tamil New Year	Friday 14 April
Bengali New Year / Bihu	Friday 14 April
Akshaya Tritiya	Saturday 22 April
Savitri Pooja	Friday 19 May
Puri Rath Yatra	Tuesday 20 June
Guru Purnima	Monday 03 July
Onam	Sunday 20 August - Thursday 31 August
Nag Panchami	Monday 21 August
Varalakshmi Vrat	Friday 25 August
Raksha Bandhan	Wednesday 30 August
Krishna Janmashtami	Wednesday 06 September - Thursday 07 September
Vishwakarma Puja	Sunday 17 September
Ganesh Chaturthi	Tuesday 19 September
Mahalaya Amavasya	Saturday 14 October
Navaratri begins	Sunday 15 October
Navaratri ends / Maha Navami	Tuesday 24 October
Dusshera	Tuesday 24 October
Sharad Purnima	Saturday 28 October
Karwa Chauth	Tuesday 31 October
Dhanteras	Friday 10 November
Diwali	Sunday 12 November
Bhai Dooj	Wednesday 15 November
Chhath Puja	Sunday 19 November - Wednesday 22 November
Kartik Poornima	Monday 27 November
Dhanu Sankranti	Saturday 16 December
Gita Jayanti	Friday 22 December