05 / Public holidays:
Why do governments legislate public holidays? Is it a way of thanking constituents for helping to vote them into power and being seen to be generous to others who did not? Are they necessary to our well being or are they simply unnecessary paid leisure time? It could be argued that these days allowing working parents to spend time with their children – a surmise that could be questioned – or that the days off from work could boost the leisure, retail and tourism sectors of the economy is providing a helping hand to commerce. This might well be the answer.
It has become customary that public holidays celebrate traditional holidays as well as the heritage of the country. Both of these statements might apply to a certain section of the public but in general – this is my opinion - they are a good excuse for those people who actually have employment to enjoy themselves. But what about those people who have only casual work and earn nothing on that public holiday as the employer does not want him or her around as they “relax”? At present South Africa has twelve public holidays but if the day falls on a Sunday the following Monday (Act 36 of 1994) becomes a holiday. If a public holiday falls during the week, one often finds individuals or parents with school going children taking very LONG weekends. This can create problems for education and the economy.
In the early days of South Africa there were no legal public holidays. For example while living at the Cape, the socially conscious Lady Anne Barnard wrote in one of her diaries dated 25 December 1799, that it was her mother’s birthday and, while she offered to go to church with the wife of another official, she made no reference to the day being of any greater significance. There was some festivity on the first of January – New Year’s Day. There might have been a reception at the Castle of Good Hope or some noisy celebration in the streets by some members of the population. But the point was that whatever the individuals resolved to do was a purely personal decision and not something that was legislated.
In days past slaves worked on lst January but were allowed the day off on the 2nd January. At the Cape of Good Hope this became known as “Tweede Nuwe Jaar” (second new year) and for many years was extremely popular. After the Union of South Africa became fact this second new year, while not an official holiday, was more or less accepted as such at the Cape. This however did not apply in the other three provinces. Slavery was legally abolished on 1st December 1834 and for many years after this the date was informally commemorated by former slaves and their descendants. A practice that has recently become an event once more as people have become aware of the past or their particular past and felt the need to make their feelings felt.
In 1856 the Cape Colony promulgated its official holidays with a decidedly colonial overtone ranging from days reflecting the political, social and Christian religious history of the Cape – New Year’s Day, King’s Birthday, Queen Victoria Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Whit Monday, Ascension Day, Christmas Day. In 1899 a further holiday was promulgated known as Wiener’s day. German born Ludwig Wiener came to the Cape in 1855. He was a successful business man and was elected to the Cape House of Assembly as the member for Cape Town. The other three provinces, Transvaal, Orange Free State and Natal, each had their own public holidays. Changes to public holidays occurred in 1910, commissions of enquiries took place in 1925, 1936 and 1949. Further alterations occurred in 1952 by the Holidays Act No5. In 1961 the country changed from a Union to a Republic and in 1994 became a democratically elected Republic
Apart from other purely commercial days, there are holidays celebrated by people of the Hindu, Jewish and Moslem faiths. While there is a strong commercial involvement in these days with a fair amount of advertising as well as articles referring to them, the holidays are celebrated in private by those belonging to the particular faiths.
