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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2253 holidays

2252 Back to 2026 2254

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

New Year's Day01 Jan 2253 · SaturdayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
Human Rights Day21 Mar 2253 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Good Friday15 Apr 2253 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Family Day18 Apr 2253 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Freedom Day27 Apr 2253 · Wednesday
Workers' Day01 May 2253 · SundayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
Workers' Day (observed)02 May 2253 · MondayEnds a long weekend.Moved from Sunday
Youth Day16 Jun 2253 · Thursday
National Women's Day09 Aug 2253 · Tuesday
Heritage Day24 Sept 2253 · SaturdayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
Day of Reconciliation16 Dec 2253 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Christmas Day25 Dec 2253 · SundayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
Christmas Day (observed)26 Dec 2253 · MondayEnds a long weekend.Moved from Sunday
Day of Goodwill26 Dec 2253 · MondayEnds a long weekend.

2253 public holidays
Date	Day	Holiday
01 Jan 2253	Saturday	New Year's DayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
21 Mar 2253	Monday	Human Rights DayEnds a long weekend.
15 Apr 2253	Friday	Good FridayStarts a long weekend.
18 Apr 2253	Monday	Family DayEnds a long weekend.
27 Apr 2253	Wednesday	Freedom Day
01 May 2253	Sunday	Workers' DayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
02 May 2253	Monday	Workers' Day (observed)Moved from SundayEnds a long weekend.
16 Jun 2253	Thursday	Youth Day
09 Aug 2253	Tuesday	National Women's Day
24 Sept 2253	Saturday	Heritage DayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
16 Dec 2253	Friday	Day of ReconciliationStarts a long weekend.
25 Dec 2253	Sunday	Christmas DayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
26 Dec 2253	Monday	Christmas Day (observed)Moved from SundayEnds a long weekend.
26 Dec 2253	Monday	Day of GoodwillEnds a long weekend.

Add 2253 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 9 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

2253 holidays

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