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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3148 holidays

3147 Back to 2026 3149

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

New Year's Day01 Jan 3148 · Thursday
Human Rights Day21 Mar 3148 · SundayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
Human Rights Day (observed)22 Mar 3148 · MondayEnds a long weekend.Moved from Sunday
Good Friday26 Mar 3148 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Family Day29 Mar 3148 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Freedom Day27 Apr 3148 · Tuesday
Workers' Day01 May 3148 · SaturdayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
Youth Day16 Jun 3148 · Wednesday
National Women's Day09 Aug 3148 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Heritage Day24 Sept 3148 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Day of Reconciliation16 Dec 3148 · Thursday
Christmas Day25 Dec 3148 · SaturdayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
Day of Goodwill26 Dec 3148 · SundayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
Day of Goodwill (observed)27 Dec 3148 · MondayEnds a long weekend.Moved from Sunday

3148 public holidays
Date	Day	Holiday
01 Jan 3148	Thursday	New Year's Day
21 Mar 3148	Sunday	Human Rights DayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
22 Mar 3148	Monday	Human Rights Day (observed)Moved from SundayEnds a long weekend.
26 Mar 3148	Friday	Good FridayStarts a long weekend.
29 Mar 3148	Monday	Family DayEnds a long weekend.
27 Apr 3148	Tuesday	Freedom Day
01 May 3148	Saturday	Workers' DayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
16 Jun 3148	Wednesday	Youth Day
09 Aug 3148	Monday	National Women's DayEnds a long weekend.
24 Sept 3148	Friday	Heritage DayStarts a long weekend.
16 Dec 3148	Thursday	Day of Reconciliation
25 Dec 3148	Saturday	Christmas DayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
26 Dec 3148	Sunday	Day of GoodwillFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
27 Dec 3148	Monday	Day of Goodwill (observed)Moved from SundayEnds a long weekend.

Add 3148 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 32 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

3148 holidays

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