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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3217 holidays

3216 Back to 2026 3218

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

New Year's Day01 Jan 3217 · SundayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
New Year's Day (observed)02 Jan 3217 · MondayEnds a long weekend.Moved from Sunday
Human Rights Day21 Mar 3217 · Tuesday
Good Friday14 Apr 3217 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Family Day17 Apr 3217 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Freedom Day27 Apr 3217 · Thursday
Workers' Day01 May 3217 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Youth Day16 Jun 3217 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
National Women's Day09 Aug 3217 · Wednesday
Heritage Day24 Sept 3217 · SundayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
Heritage Day (observed)25 Sept 3217 · MondayEnds a long weekend.Moved from Sunday
Day of Reconciliation16 Dec 3217 · SaturdayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
Christmas Day25 Dec 3217 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Day of Goodwill26 Dec 3217 · Tuesday

3217 public holidays
Date	Day	Holiday
01 Jan 3217	Sunday	New Year's DayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
02 Jan 3217	Monday	New Year's Day (observed)Moved from SundayEnds a long weekend.
21 Mar 3217	Tuesday	Human Rights Day
14 Apr 3217	Friday	Good FridayStarts a long weekend.
17 Apr 3217	Monday	Family DayEnds a long weekend.
27 Apr 3217	Thursday	Freedom Day
01 May 3217	Monday	Workers' DayEnds a long weekend.
16 Jun 3217	Friday	Youth DayStarts a long weekend.
09 Aug 3217	Wednesday	National Women's Day
24 Sept 3217	Sunday	Heritage DayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
25 Sept 3217	Monday	Heritage Day (observed)Moved from SundayEnds a long weekend.
16 Dec 3217	Saturday	Day of ReconciliationFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
25 Dec 3217	Monday	Christmas DayEnds a long weekend.
26 Dec 3217	Tuesday	Day of Goodwill

Add 3217 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

3217 holidays

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