Dates & holidays

South African public holidays

Check statutory public holidays and known proclaimed additions, including the Sunday-to-Monday rule. Spot long weekends for a Monday-to-Friday work week.

2012 holidays

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Long-weekend notes assume a Monday-to-Friday work week.

New Year's Day01 Jan 2012 · SundayFalls on Sunday — the Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
New Year's Day (observed)02 Jan 2012 · MondayEnds a long weekend.Moved from Sunday
Human Rights Day21 Mar 2012 · Wednesday
Good Friday06 Apr 2012 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Family Day09 Apr 2012 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Freedom Day27 Apr 2012 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Workers' Day01 May 2012 · Tuesday
Youth Day16 Jun 2012 · SaturdayFalls on Saturday — the Act does not add a Monday holiday.
National Women's Day09 Aug 2012 · Thursday
Heritage Day24 Sept 2012 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Day of Reconciliation16 Dec 2012 · SundayFalls on Sunday — the Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
Day of Reconciliation (observed)17 Dec 2012 · MondayEnds a long weekend.Moved from Sunday
Christmas Day25 Dec 2012 · Tuesday
Day of Goodwill26 Dec 2012 · Wednesday

Date	Day	Holiday
01 Jan 2012	Sunday	New Year's DayFalls on Sunday — the Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
02 Jan 2012	Monday	New Year's Day (observed)Moved from SundayEnds a long weekend.
21 Mar 2012	Wednesday	Human Rights Day
06 Apr 2012	Friday	Good FridayStarts a long weekend.
09 Apr 2012	Monday	Family DayEnds a long weekend.
27 Apr 2012	Friday	Freedom DayStarts a long weekend.
01 May 2012	Tuesday	Workers' Day
16 Jun 2012	Saturday	Youth DayFalls on Saturday — the Act does not add a Monday holiday.
09 Aug 2012	Thursday	National Women's Day
24 Sept 2012	Monday	Heritage DayEnds a long weekend.
16 Dec 2012	Sunday	Day of ReconciliationFalls on Sunday — the Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
17 Dec 2012	Monday	Day of Reconciliation (observed)Moved from SundayEnds a long weekend.
25 Dec 2012	Tuesday	Christmas Day
26 Dec 2012	Wednesday	Day of Goodwill

Next public holidayLocal Government Elections04 Nov 2026 · in 20 days

Falls on a: Wednesday

Public Holidays Act 36 of 1994

Where this comes from, and what it doesn't cover

Statutory dates plus known proclaimed additions, checked through 22 Sept 2026. The list includes the declared holiday on 4 November 2026. It does not promise a complete history of one-off holidays.

The ten holidays with fixed dates come from the Public Holidays Act 36 of 1994, and so does the rule that makes the Monday a holiday too when one falls on a Sunday. Good Friday and Family Day move with Easter, so we work those out using the same rule the Christian calendar uses. The Act started on 1 January 1995, so the year picker starts there. A Saturday public holiday does not create an extra Monday holiday under this Act.

What this doesn't work out on its own: the President can declare an extra public holiday, usually an election day. There's no rule behind those, so we can't predict one before it's announced — but once the government has officially declared a date, we add it here as its own checked entry. If there's an election coming and it isn't listed above yet, check the government's own holidays page.

South African public holidays

2012 holidays

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