What Is Heritage Day?
The South African holiday is designated as a public holiday in South Africa for Heritage Day. On this day, South Africans are urged to honor their heritage and the variety of their religious and cultural practices within the broader framework of a country that belongs to all its citizens. Zulu people gave it the name Heritage Day.
History Behind Heritage Day
Most people in KwaZulu-Natal refer to September 24 as Shaka Day in remembrance of Shaka, the Zulu ruler of southern Africa, on the day of what is believed to have been his passing in 1828. Shaka was crucial in bringing the various Zulu clans together to form unified countries. On this day every year, a crowd gathers to the Shaka Memorial to pay tribute to him. The 24 September was not listed among the proposed public holidays in the Public Holidays Bill that was presented to the South African post-Apartheid Parliament in 1996. The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), a political party in South Africa with a sizable Zulu membership, opposed to the law as a result of this exclusion. As a result of a compromise achieved between Parliament and the ANC, the day was given its current name and declared a public holiday known as Heritage Day.
How Is Heritage Day Celebrateed
On this day, South Africans commemorate the rich cultural diversity that makes up their country’s population. To honor or celebrate this day, numerous events are held across the nation, including BRAAI. Ebrahim Rasool, a former Western Cape provincial premier, spoke to the public in 2007 at Gugulethu during a Heritage Day event at the Gugulethu Heritage trail. An army procession and a simulation of the conflict that took place there are both held in Hout Bay. In an effort to honor the culinary custom of casual backyard barbecues known as braais, Jan Scannell, often known as “Jan Braai,” launched a media campaign in 2005 requesting that the event be renamed as a National Braai Day.Upon accepting the position of patron of South Africa’s Braai Day on September 5, 2007, Archbishop Desmond Tutu declared it to be a unifying force in a divided nation (by donning an apron and enthusiastically eating a boerewors sausage). The National Heritage Council of South Africa gave the initiative their support in 2008. The goal, according to Scannell, is to host intimate gatherings with close friends and family members rather than a large braai. When celebrating the holiday, people dress traditionally.
The Purpose Of Our Heritage Day Braai
Nothing is more South African than starting a fire and preparing a meal, and it transcends boundaries of race, culture, religion, and socioeconomic class. Jan Scannell, also known as “Jan Braai,” a native of Stellenbosch who left his profession in finance in 2005 to concentrate on the National Braai Day Initiative, created the National Braai Day in South Africa.
National Braai Day encourages all South Africans to get together around fires and share and celebrate our distinctive culture and heritage, much like the Irish have St. Patrick’s Day, the French have Bastille Day, and the Australians have Australia Day.
When Is Heritage Day In South Africa?
In South Africa, September is Heritage Month, and National Heritage Day is observed on September 24. Every year in the first few weeks of spring, people from all over the country gather to eat, drink, and have a good time while honoring what unites us as South Africans. The 24th of September has been designated as Legacy Day ever since it was made a public holiday in 1996. On this day, we are encouraged to honor our cultural customs, communities, and heritage.
