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

3185 holidays

3184 Back to 2026 3186

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

New Year's Day01 Jan 3185 · Tuesday
Human Rights Day21 Mar 3185 · Thursday
Good Friday12 Apr 3185 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Family Day15 Apr 3185 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Freedom Day27 Apr 3185 · SaturdayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
Workers' Day01 May 3185 · Wednesday
Youth Day16 Jun 3185 · SundayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
Youth Day (observed)17 Jun 3185 · MondayEnds a long weekend.Moved from Sunday
National Women's Day09 Aug 3185 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Heritage Day24 Sept 3185 · Tuesday
Day of Reconciliation16 Dec 3185 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Christmas Day25 Dec 3185 · Wednesday
Day of Goodwill26 Dec 3185 · Thursday

3185 public holidays
Date	Day	Holiday
01 Jan 3185	Tuesday	New Year's Day
21 Mar 3185	Thursday	Human Rights Day
12 Apr 3185	Friday	Good FridayStarts a long weekend.
15 Apr 3185	Monday	Family DayEnds a long weekend.
27 Apr 3185	Saturday	Freedom DayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
01 May 3185	Wednesday	Workers' Day
16 Jun 3185	Sunday	Youth DayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
17 Jun 3185	Monday	Youth Day (observed)Moved from SundayEnds a long weekend.
09 Aug 3185	Friday	National Women's DayStarts a long weekend.
24 Sept 3185	Tuesday	Heritage Day
16 Dec 3185	Monday	Day of ReconciliationEnds a long weekend.
25 Dec 3185	Wednesday	Christmas Day
26 Dec 3185	Thursday	Day of Goodwill

Add 3185 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

3185 holidays

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