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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3254 holidays

3253 Back to 2026 3255

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

New Year's Day01 Jan 3254 · Thursday
Human Rights Day21 Mar 3254 · SaturdayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
Good Friday27 Mar 3254 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Family Day30 Mar 3254 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Freedom Day27 Apr 3254 · MondayEnds a long weekend.
Workers' Day01 May 3254 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Youth Day16 Jun 3254 · Tuesday
National Women's Day09 Aug 3254 · SundayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
National Women's Day (observed)10 Aug 3254 · MondayEnds a long weekend.Moved from Sunday
Heritage Day24 Sept 3254 · Thursday
Day of Reconciliation16 Dec 3254 · Wednesday
Christmas Day25 Dec 3254 · FridayStarts a long weekend.
Day of Goodwill26 Dec 3254 · SaturdayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.

3254 public holidays
Date	Day	Holiday
01 Jan 3254	Thursday	New Year's Day
21 Mar 3254	Saturday	Human Rights DayFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.
27 Mar 3254	Friday	Good FridayStarts a long weekend.
30 Mar 3254	Monday	Family DayEnds a long weekend.
27 Apr 3254	Monday	Freedom DayEnds a long weekend.
01 May 3254	Friday	Workers' DayStarts a long weekend.
16 Jun 3254	Tuesday	Youth Day
09 Aug 3254	Sunday	National Women's DayFalls on Sunday. The Act also makes Monday a public holiday.
10 Aug 3254	Monday	National Women's Day (observed)Moved from SundayEnds a long weekend.
24 Sept 3254	Thursday	Heritage Day
16 Dec 3254	Wednesday	Day of Reconciliation
25 Dec 3254	Friday	Christmas DayStarts a long weekend.
26 Dec 3254	Saturday	Day of GoodwillFalls on Saturday. The Act does not add a Monday holiday.

Add 3254 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

3254 holidays

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