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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3209 holidays

3208 Back to 2026 3210

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

New Year's Day01 Jan 3209 · Thursday
Human Rights Day21 Mar 3209 · SaturdayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
Good Friday17 Apr 3209 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Family Day20 Apr 3209 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Freedom Day27 Apr 3209 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Workers' Day01 May 3209 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Youth Day16 Jun 3209 · Tuesday
National Women's Day09 Aug 3209 · SundayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
National Women's Day (observed)10 Aug 3209 · MondayEnds a long weekend.Moved from Sunday
Heritage Day24 Sept 3209 · Thursday
Day of Reconciliation16 Dec 3209 · Wednesday
Christmas Day25 Dec 3209 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Day of Goodwill26 Dec 3209 · SaturdayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.

3209 public holidays
Date	Day	Holiday
01 Jan 3209	Thursday	New Year's Day
21 Mar 3209	Saturday	Human Rights DayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
17 Apr 3209	Friday	Good FridayStarts a long weekend.
20 Apr 3209	Monday	Family DayEnds a long weekend.
27 Apr 3209	Monday	Freedom DayEnds a long weekend.
01 May 3209	Friday	Workers' DayStarts a long weekend.
16 Jun 3209	Tuesday	Youth Day
09 Aug 3209	Sunday	National Women's DayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
10 Aug 3209	Monday	National Women's Day (observed)Moved from SundayEnds a long weekend.
24 Sept 3209	Thursday	Heritage Day
16 Dec 3209	Wednesday	Day of Reconciliation
25 Dec 3209	Friday	Christmas DayStarts a long weekend.
26 Dec 3209	Saturday	Day of GoodwillFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.

Add 3209 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

3209 holidays

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