24TH September, Heritage Day
This is one of my favourite public holidays. Why? You may
ask. Well believe it or not, I love my country. Yes it has its flaws as all
things do however, it is the place I call home. Having travelling spirit and
having the opportunity to explore may other countries, I still get that
overwhelming feeling of excitement, joy and pride when heading home to SA.
I love our beautiful country, with the ever unique ‘Rainbow Nation’. We have 11 official
languages, 9 provinces, each filled with a diverse group of individuals, each
representing their own culture and traditions. In essence we needed a day to
recognise and celebrate our diversity. I relish in this diversity and see it as an opportunity to show our strength in diversity rather than adversity.
As most of you know Heritage Day is also known as National
Braai day. Others know it as barbecue well here in SA it’s simply “braai”. It is
something that connects us all and what better way to celebrate our diversity
together, than to share a meal over a braai. The French have Bastille Day, the
Aussies have Australia Day and the Irish have St. Patricks Day and since 2005
we have National Braai Day incorporating a sense of unity and truly South African
spirit. This year for the first time I got to engage in this festivity – an unplanned
mini braai. But a braai none the less.
The highlight of my day however, was my time spent with the
spirited staff at the Dischem beauty counter. These gorgeous women went all out
to show their Heritage loudly and proudly. Dressed in their Zulu attire these
young women clearly showed the spirit in which this holiday was created. Although
they were at work on a public holiday their spirits were not dampened, rather
they uplifted the spirits of the hundreds of customers which they came in
contact with. What made me feel even more proud was the young Indian lady that
was also dressed in Zulu attire. Why? Because living in South Africa, makes us
African and being born in KZN makes us Zulu! I love this sentiment and wish we
would all see ourselves as AFRICAN before anything else.
So what did I learn from my time spent with the ladies aside from make-up tips?
Embrace your individuality and remember that we all live
towards a common goal of peace and unity so celebrate the fact that you are
African – and may you finally become proudly South African!
xxx
Saudaa
