South Africa's Heritage day is celebrated on September 24 each year.
It signifiies recognising aspects of South African culture which are both tangible and difficult to pin down:
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creative expression,
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historical inheritance,
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language,
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food eaten,
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land which is lived on.
President 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. 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."
The Government determines a theme for each year's celebrations.
When a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday following on it shall be a public holiday.
