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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3197 holidays

3196 Back to 2026 3198

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

New Year's Day01 Jan 3197 · Wednesday
Human Rights Day21 Mar 3197 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Good Friday28 Mar 3197 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Family Day31 Mar 3197 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Freedom Day27 Apr 3197 · SundayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
Freedom Day (observed)28 Apr 3197 · MondayEnds a long weekend.Moved from Sunday
Workers' Day01 May 3197 · Thursday
Youth Day16 Jun 3197 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
National Women's Day09 Aug 3197 · SaturdayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
Heritage Day24 Sept 3197 · Wednesday
Day of Reconciliation16 Dec 3197 · Tuesday
Christmas Day25 Dec 3197 · Thursday
Day of Goodwill26 Dec 3197 · FridayStarts a long weekend.

3197 public holidays
Date	Day	Holiday
01 Jan 3197	Wednesday	New Year's Day
21 Mar 3197	Friday	Human Rights DayStarts a long weekend.
28 Mar 3197	Friday	Good FridayStarts a long weekend.
31 Mar 3197	Monday	Family DayEnds a long weekend.
27 Apr 3197	Sunday	Freedom DayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
28 Apr 3197	Monday	Freedom Day (observed)Moved from SundayEnds a long weekend.
01 May 3197	Thursday	Workers' Day
16 Jun 3197	Monday	Youth DayEnds a long weekend.
09 Aug 3197	Saturday	National Women's DayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
24 Sept 3197	Wednesday	Heritage Day
16 Dec 3197	Tuesday	Day of Reconciliation
25 Dec 3197	Thursday	Christmas Day
26 Dec 3197	Friday	Day of GoodwillStarts a long weekend.

Add 3197 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

3197 holidays

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