Apart from internationally relevant public holidays like New Year’s Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day and May Day (Worker’s Day), many of South Africa’s public holidays commemorate important historical and political events from the recent past.

Here is a brief summary of each:

21 March (Human Rights Day):

On the 21st of March 1960, police opened fire on a group of protesters outside a police station in Sharpeville, Gauteng. The protest was against the extension of pass laws, which limited the movement of black South Africans within the country.

This became known as the Sharpeville Massacre, and brought international attention to the discriminating laws that were being enforced in the newly established Republic of South Africa, making the country even more isolated within the international community.

27 April (Freedom Day):

After a long period of struggle, negotiations and violent upheaval in various parts of the country in the early 1990’s, the first democratic elections in South Africa took place on the 27th of April 1994, a date which is commemorated annually and which brought in the “New South Africa”. It’s a special day in South African history as it was the first time that most South Africans had ever voted, and people famously queued for hours all over the country.

16 June (Youth Day):

During the height of resistance against apartheid in the 1970s, students in the township of Soweto in Joburg took to the streets to protest against the introduction of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in schools. Police retaliated and many students were killed or injured.

This was the height of revolt against a regime that offered inferior education to the black majority, and these riots were another turning point in the course of South African history, largely influenced by the Black Consciousness student movement lead by resistance icon Steve Biko.

9 August (Women’s Day):

On the 9th of August 1956, thousands of women from all over the then Transvaal, and other parts of South Africa, marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to protest against the introduction of pass laws to women, which restricted their movement and obliged them to live in certain areas. The movement was organised by famous women leaders from various backgrounds, including Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph and Fatima Meer.

24 September (Heritage Day):

Formerly celebrated as Shaka Day by the Zulu population of South Africa, to commemorate the revered King Shaka, the 24th of September is now celebrated annually as Heritage Day, to celebrate the diversity of South African culture. After a recent publicity campaign by a well-known South African chef, Jan Braai, Heritage Day is also known as “Braai Day”.

16 December (Day Of Reconciliation):

Formerly a date that commemorated two different historical events, one the victory of the Afrikaner Voortrekkers over the Zulu army at the Battle of Blood River, and the other the formation of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing of the African National Congress (ANC) liberation movement, this day is now celebrated as the Day of Reconciliation, which brings two significant events together in a gesture of cultural unity.

Keep an eye out for events that celebrate these public holidays if you’d like to learn more! Interestingly, a lot of these events took place in and around the Gauteng area, so it’s easy to visit these places and learn more about the events that took place there if you’re interested:

Voortrekker Monument, Pretoria

Union Buildings, Pretoria

Sharpeville Memorial

Hector Pieterson Memorial, Soweto