Heritage Day which is on the 24th September 2021 was celebrated on the 23rd September 2021, to recognize and celebrate the cultural diversity and wealth of the nation. Teachers at Badirile Secondary School celebrated the day in style as they had to juggle between teaching and learning and to ensure that a “decent cultural meal” is prepared to celebrate South Africa’s roots, their rich, vibrant, and diverse cultures represented at the school: Badirile Secondary School’s Rainbow Community.
South Africans celebrate the day by remembering the cultural heritage of the many cultures that make up the population of South Africa. Various events will be staged throughout the country on the 24th September 2021 to commemorate this day.
WHAT IS HERITAGE DAY IN SOUTH AFRICA?
Heritage Day, once known as Shaka Day, is celebrated in South Africa on September 24th every year. Shaka Day was originally named in honour of the legendary Zulu king, Shaka Zulu, who convinced multiple Zulu clans to stand together in unity against the Boers and the British.
This day of commemoration was included in the Bill of Rights in 1996 as a Public Holiday but with a name change to Heritage Day. This was and still is an all-inclusive day on which to celebrate the heritage of all South Africans (for all of the diverse cultures to come together, unified, to celebrate their particular unique heritage and contribution to South Africa history.
Why Do We Celebrate Heritage Day?
There is nothing more South Africans can do rather than celebrating who they are and where they are coming from as a nation-our background and what makes us to be who we are as a country. There are invaluable lessons we learn from each other as people following our different cultures and traditions which must be transferred from one generation to the ones to come so that we do not lose our identity.
What about the Youth in this Country?
Though the country recognizes and celebrate “Heritage Day”, one can deduce that not enough is been done to sustain the diverse cultures that we have in this country. The ceremonies conducted across the country are dominated by elderly people who seem to know and understand where they are coming from, rather than ensuring that the day is shared fully with the youth. One would even suggest that learners and schools should be given resources to promote and popularize the day amongst the learners in order to sustain the day.
Is enough been done to sustain the rich and diverse Cultures in this Country?
Not everyone will agree with the notion that much is been done in order to protect and nurture the rich and diverse cultures of this country. Arguably speaking, one can say that the country only remembers “Heritage Day” only during September month-which is used to promote and plan for the celebrations across the country.
Whilst we are satisfied with the little reach we make across the country, we are gradually losing the opportunities to pass the (cultural) button to the youth-who had already lost the meaning and the importance of (June 16,1976) Youth Day. If we are to be relevant and effective in reaching and recapturing our youth, it is would be invaluable for South Africans (Department of Sports, Arts & Culture in particular) to stop allocating resources to celebrate in the Offices, but to reach out to the ordinary men on the streets.
Whatever you choose to do to celebrate National Heritage Day, enjoy it with friends and family, wave the South African flag proudly, and remember your heritage and the place it holds in South Africa’s multicultural landscape. If you’re at work in South Africa, you can still celebrate a South African Heritage Day by hosting your own Cultural food wherever you are. Let the SOUTH AFRICAN FLAG Fly high as we Celebrate Heritage Day.
