Heritage Day (English), I langa lwama siko e sintu (isiZulu), imini yoku khumbula noku hlonipha amasiko nezithethe zakwantu (isiXhosa) and Erfenisdag (Afrikaans) is a public holiday on 24 September for all South Africans to celebrate our rich heritage.
Looking at its background the Department of Environmental Affairs states that “Heritage Day presents an opportunity for us to reflect on how our freedom and democracy were achieved; the progress we have made over the past 20 years; and on how South Africans are going to work together to implement Vision 2030.”
In a statement issued by the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology on 17 September in 1996, “Heritage Day rests in recognizing 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.”
In the words of the great Nelson Mandela “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.”
Heritage Day is also known as National Braai Day. On 5 September 2007, Nobel Peace Prize winner Emeritus Archbishop Doctor Desmond Tutu was appointment as patron of the National Braai Day initiative.
The official website braai.com describes National Braai Day further as “A call to all South Africans to unite around fires, share our heritage and wave our flag on 24 September every year. Across race, language, region and religion, we all share one common heritage. It is called many things: Chisa Nyama, Braai and Ukosa to name few. Although the ingredients may differ, the one thing that never changes is that when we have something to celebrate we light fires, and prepare great feasts.
“National Braai Day is a noble cause, which will contribute to strengthening South Africa as a nation through this act of nation building and social cohesion.”
(Source: Department of Home Affairs, www.gov.co.za, www.braai.com)
