Dates & planning

South African public holidays

See South Africa's public holidays, including extra days the President declares and the Monday off when a holiday falls on a Sunday. Spot long weekends if you work Monday to Friday.

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2221 holidays

2220 Back to 2026 2222

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

New Year's Day01 Jan 2221 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Human Rights Day21 Mar 2221 · Wednesday
Good Friday13 Apr 2221 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Family Day16 Apr 2221 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Freedom Day27 Apr 2221 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Workers' Day01 May 2221 · Tuesday
Youth Day16 Jun 2221 · SaturdayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
National Women's Day09 Aug 2221 · Thursday
Heritage Day24 Sept 2221 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Day of Reconciliation16 Dec 2221 · SundayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
Day of Reconciliation (observed)17 Dec 2221 · MondayEnds a long weekend.Moved from Sunday
Christmas Day25 Dec 2221 · Tuesday
Day of Goodwill26 Dec 2221 · Wednesday

2221 public holidays
Date	Day	Holiday
01 Jan 2221	Monday	New Year's DayEnds a long weekend.
21 Mar 2221	Wednesday	Human Rights Day
13 Apr 2221	Friday	Good FridayStarts a long weekend.
16 Apr 2221	Monday	Family DayEnds a long weekend.
27 Apr 2221	Friday	Freedom DayStarts a long weekend.
01 May 2221	Tuesday	Workers' Day
16 Jun 2221	Saturday	Youth DayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
09 Aug 2221	Thursday	National Women's Day
24 Sept 2221	Monday	Heritage DayEnds a long weekend.
16 Dec 2221	Sunday	Day of ReconciliationFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
17 Dec 2221	Monday	Day of Reconciliation (observed)Moved from SundayEnds a long weekend.
25 Dec 2221	Tuesday	Christmas Day
26 Dec 2221	Wednesday	Day of Goodwill

Add 2221 holidays to your calendarDownloads a small calendar file. Open it to add these dates to your phone or computer calendar.

Next public holidayLocal Government Elections04 Nov 2026 · in 10 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. 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.

School holidays aren't public holidays. Public school terms follow a separate calendar from the Department of Basic Education, and private schools set their own, so this page doesn't list them.

South African public holidays

2221 holidays

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