In an address marking Heritage Day in 1996, former President Nelson 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.
Heritage Day on 24 September recognises and celebrates the cultural wealth of our nation. South Africans celebrate the 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.
Heritage Month recognises aspects of South African culture which are both tangible and intangible: creative expression such as music and performances, our historical inheritance, language, the food we eat as well as the popular memory.
Heritage Day – 24 September – is one of South Africa's newer public holidays, declared after the republic became a democracy in 1994. The day was first observed in 1996. Prior to that, 24 September was commemorated in KwaZulu-Natal as Shaka Day, in honour of the legendary Zulu leader, King Shaka Zulu.
Heritage is a person's unique, inherited sense of family identity: the values, traditions, culture, and artifacts handed down by previous generations. Some families define their heritage primarily as their ethnic, cultural, or national identity.
Married men wear loin skins. Tswana women wear an apron called a khiba, with a skirt called a mosese. Men wear a kaross, a blanket made from animal skin, to cover up. They wear a traditional Basotho dress called the seshoeshoe.
Gather the family and visit a museum, a public sculpture, city hall or a historic monument. Take a picnic along, for an outing that is both fun and educational. Now is a great time to learn about our beautiful country! How do you celebrate Heritage Day?
Here are 10 things that every South African can do to make Mzansi a better place:
- 1) Volunteer.
- 3) Donate blood.
- 4) Purchase locally produced goods & support local businesses.
- 5) Take pride in where you live and work.
- 6) Be friendly.
- 9) Share your skills.
- 10) Be positive and be the change you want to see in this country.
The youth are invited to a heritage celebration, to be held at the KwaThema Assemblies of God, on Sunday. On the day, different speakers will encourage the youth and educate them about the importance of their heritage.
The National Braai Day initiative is aimed at positioning National Heritage Day as South Africa's annual day of celebration. And each year that is exactly what South Africans do: they braai on a day which the government has set this day aside for all South Africans to celebrate their rich heritage.
Answer: Day of Reconciliation healed the nation: Explanation: The Day of Reconciliation was introduced in 1994 as a way to heal the rift between the people of South Africa, and bring harmony to a nation still suffering from decades of injustice.
Heritage Day is celebrated in Alberta on the first Monday of August each year. Although it is not a statutory holiday, many Canadians in Alberta use this day as an optional holiday to celebrate the province's heritage.
