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.

Printed from Mzansi Tools: mzansitools.co.za/public-holidays

2586 holidays

2585 Back to 2026 2587

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

New Year's Day01 Jan 2586 · SundayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
New Year's Day (observed)02 Jan 2586 · MondayEnds a long weekend.Moved from Sunday
Human Rights Day21 Mar 2586 · Tuesday
Good Friday24 Mar 2586 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Family Day27 Mar 2586 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Freedom Day27 Apr 2586 · Thursday
Workers' Day01 May 2586 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Youth Day16 Jun 2586 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
National Women's Day09 Aug 2586 · Wednesday
Heritage Day24 Sept 2586 · SundayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
Heritage Day (observed)25 Sept 2586 · MondayEnds a long weekend.Moved from Sunday
Day of Reconciliation16 Dec 2586 · SaturdayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
Christmas Day25 Dec 2586 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Day of Goodwill26 Dec 2586 · Tuesday

2586 public holidays
Date	Day	Holiday
01 Jan 2586	Sunday	New Year's DayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
02 Jan 2586	Monday	New Year's Day (observed)Moved from SundayEnds a long weekend.
21 Mar 2586	Tuesday	Human Rights Day
24 Mar 2586	Friday	Good FridayStarts a long weekend.
27 Mar 2586	Monday	Family DayEnds a long weekend.
27 Apr 2586	Thursday	Freedom Day
01 May 2586	Monday	Workers' DayEnds a long weekend.
16 Jun 2586	Friday	Youth DayStarts a long weekend.
09 Aug 2586	Wednesday	National Women's Day
24 Sept 2586	Sunday	Heritage DayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
25 Sept 2586	Monday	Heritage Day (observed)Moved from SundayEnds a long weekend.
16 Dec 2586	Saturday	Day of ReconciliationFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
25 Dec 2586	Monday	Christmas DayEnds a long weekend.
26 Dec 2586	Tuesday	Day of Goodwill

Add 2586 holidays to your calendarDownloads a small calendar file. Open it to add these dates to your phone or computer calendar.

Next public holidayDay of Reconciliation16 Dec 2026 · in 39 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

2586 holidays

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