School holiday
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Monday March 20, 2023
School holidays : Bridge day before Human Rights Day
Human Rights Day
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Tuesday March 21, 2023
Secular holiday : On this day in 1960 the police killed 69 people at Sharpeville who were participating in a protest against the pass laws. Many were shot in the back. The carnage made world headlines. Four days later the government banned black political organizations, many leaders were arrested or went into exile. During the Apartheid era there were human rights abuses by all sides; Human Rights Day is but one step to ensure that the people of South Africa are aware of their human rights and to ensure that such abuses never again occur. [http://africanhistory.about.com]
First mid-term (beginning)
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Friday March 24, 2023
School holidays :
Good Friday
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Friday April 7, 2023
Catholic or protestant : The First Council of Nicaea (a gathering of bishops in the early days of Christianity) wanted to find a day to commemorate the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. This commemoration had to be linked to Jewish holiday traditions, since the last supper of Christ was believed to be a Jewish Passover meal. But the Jewish calendar is based on lunar and solar cycles, so the Easter celebration had to follow the same calendar.
Family Day
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Monday April 10, 2023
Secular holiday : It was typical in South Africa to take a day off of work after Easter. This day, which is also known as Easter Monday, was renamed as Family Day in 1995. This extra day off for the holiday was meant to give families more quality family time together and to allow them to go on vacations with friends and family.
First mid-term (end)
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Wednesday April 12, 2023
School holidays :
Freedom Day
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Thursday April 27, 2023
Secular holiday : Commemorates the first post-apartheid elections, where South Africans of all races were freely allowed to determine the future of their newfound democracy. Held in 1994, they saw Nelson Mandela elected as President.
Labour Day
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Monday May 1, 2023
Secular holiday : Chicago, Saturday May 1st, 1886: 350,000 workers go on strike to call for an 8-hour working day. Industries are paralyzed nationwide. On Monday, as demonstrations go on, the police open fire. On Tuesday, Chicago is again on strike. Following a bomb launched against them, the police shoot again. 12 dead, of which 7 policemen. 8 anarchists will be condemned and executed. In 1889, the Socialist International Movement met in Paris and declared this day international workers' day . The Soviets will follow suit, just as the Nazis. In France, under the Vichy regime (1940-1944), the celebration is renamed Labour Day .
Youth Day
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Friday June 16, 2023
Secular holiday : In 1975 protests started in African schools after a directive from the then Bantu Education Department that Afrikaans had to be used on an equal basis with English as a language of instruction in secondary schools. The issue, however, was not so much the Afrikaans as the whole system of Bantu education which was characterised by separate schools and universities, poor facilities, overcrowded classrooms and inadequately trained teachers. On 16 June 1976 more than 20 000 pupils from Soweto began a protest march. Paid holiday when falling on Saturday or Sunday Previously known as Soweto Day.
Second mid-term (beginning)
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Friday June 23, 2023
School holidays :
Second mid-term (end)
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Tuesday July 18, 2023
School holidays :
Second mid-term (end)
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Wednesday July 19, 2023
School holidays :
National Womens' Day
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Wednesday August 9, 2023
Secular holiday : Commemorates 9 August 1956 when women participated in a national march to petition against pass laws (legislation that required African persons to carry a document on them to prove that they were allowed to enter a white area
Heritage Day
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Sunday September 24, 2023
Secular holiday : All that the people of South Africa 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. Not a paid holiday when falling on Saturday or Sunday
Heritage Day
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Monday September 25, 2023
Secular holiday : All that the people of South Africa 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. Not a paid holiday when falling on Saturday or Sunday
Third mid-term (beginning)
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Friday September 29, 2023
School holidays :