Heritage day
Many use the day as an opportunity to express their pride in their culture and origins. The philosophy of “unity in diversity” will be displayed through the myriad traditional attires that will be on show on the day.
In this way, this day is more of a showcase of our differences than it is of what binds us together as a nation.
Heritage Day makes more glaring the inadequacy of the nation building project.
Twenty-four years into democracy, it is difficult to speak of a common nationhood.
Nationalism denotes that people should unite on the basis of language, nationality or culture.
Nation connotes shared territory, language, history, culture, common ancestry or nationality, a shared religion, belief system or values.
SA, as a nation, does not fit into this characterization. It is a stark example of how difficult it is to build common nationhood on the foundation of division.
The process of deliberating on the proposed amendment of section 25 (property rights) of the constitution provides a suitable analogy.
From chants of “izwe lethu” (our motherland) to nostalgic reflections on the quest to preserve the right to “die vaderland” (the fatherland), the contested nature of SA nationhood is on display.
Nothing quite beats a good old South African ‘vleis’ fest and it’s nearing that time of the year when we all have an excuse to break out the charcoal and tongs. The Braai is synonymous with South African culture and once a year we go all out to remind ourselves of this fact by firing up the braai to honor our heritage. The 24th Of September is National Heritage day and families everywhere are preparing their grills and stocking up on some choice cuts of meat for the occasion.
From CEFA Family we wish you a Great Heritage Month.