As a South African, it's really easy to take for granted the number of Public Holidays that the country has.
Sometimes it can seem like they all blur into this mass of unproductive hours that cost the country time and money.
For me, it has taken an immigration, and watching an ANZAC Day Parade to fully appreciate the meaning behind the holidays in South Africa.
We don't make a big deal out of the holidays in South Africa. Freedom Day, coming up now on Saturday the 27th April is a celebration of our first democratic and fair elections. Do we really feel that celebration ? Is it just another Braai Day , or long weekend?
Why do we not make a massive deal out of our bloodless revolution?
I watched the ANZAC Parade today , in my small town , about an hour's drive out of the Melbourne City Centre. It was in no way , as massive as the Melbourne City ANZAC service and Parade where thousands of people line the streets of the city to watch thousands of Veterans, the currently enlisted, the police, the paramedics, and anyone else in a uniform march. They go to pay homage. Yes, ANZAC Day is a commemoration of WW1 and Gallipoli, but it is also a recognition of all the armed forces , and their sacrifice.
There are marches and parades and services all over the country, in practically every town that has a town centre.
Politics mean nothing on ANZAC Day. Whichever war, or battlefront you are, or were stationed at is irrelevant. Your sacrifice, bravery and sense of duty and honour is proudly recognised. You are appreciated by your countrymen, and they come out in droves to make sure you understand it.
Watching the veterans of previous wars, the old and infirm with their brightly starched uniforms and walking frames, sticks , and wheelchairs , I was moved to tears. Not just by their sacrifice and pride , but by how proud Australia is of their soldiers , their diggers and their sailors.
And in that moment, I realised the real celebration of Freedom Day, in South Africa, is not in being happy that we had an election, and it's not in being happy that we switched Governments without a war. It isn't even necessarily about Madiba, the father of our young nation.
The real celebration of Freedom Day is in learning to be proud of each other , in acknowledging how we have changed since the 'old days' and that first election day, and in promising to each other that we will do better.
The real celebration of Freedom Day is in being proud of our fellow South Africans, because we did something that no other country in the world did. And we did it together.
So that's what I'll be doing on Saturday here in Melbourne, a half a world away. I will take some time on Saturday to be proud of all my fellow South Africans, instead of just being proud to be South African.
Sometimes it can seem like they all blur into this mass of unproductive hours that cost the country time and money.
For me, it has taken an immigration, and watching an ANZAC Day Parade to fully appreciate the meaning behind the holidays in South Africa.
We don't make a big deal out of the holidays in South Africa. Freedom Day, coming up now on Saturday the 27th April is a celebration of our first democratic and fair elections. Do we really feel that celebration ? Is it just another Braai Day , or long weekend?
Why do we not make a massive deal out of our bloodless revolution?
I watched the ANZAC Parade today , in my small town , about an hour's drive out of the Melbourne City Centre. It was in no way , as massive as the Melbourne City ANZAC service and Parade where thousands of people line the streets of the city to watch thousands of Veterans, the currently enlisted, the police, the paramedics, and anyone else in a uniform march. They go to pay homage. Yes, ANZAC Day is a commemoration of WW1 and Gallipoli, but it is also a recognition of all the armed forces , and their sacrifice.
There are marches and parades and services all over the country, in practically every town that has a town centre.
Politics mean nothing on ANZAC Day. Whichever war, or battlefront you are, or were stationed at is irrelevant. Your sacrifice, bravery and sense of duty and honour is proudly recognised. You are appreciated by your countrymen, and they come out in droves to make sure you understand it.
Watching the veterans of previous wars, the old and infirm with their brightly starched uniforms and walking frames, sticks , and wheelchairs , I was moved to tears. Not just by their sacrifice and pride , but by how proud Australia is of their soldiers , their diggers and their sailors.
And in that moment, I realised the real celebration of Freedom Day, in South Africa, is not in being happy that we had an election, and it's not in being happy that we switched Governments without a war. It isn't even necessarily about Madiba, the father of our young nation.
The real celebration of Freedom Day is in learning to be proud of each other , in acknowledging how we have changed since the 'old days' and that first election day, and in promising to each other that we will do better.
The real celebration of Freedom Day is in being proud of our fellow South Africans, because we did something that no other country in the world did. And we did it together.
So that's what I'll be doing on Saturday here in Melbourne, a half a world away. I will take some time on Saturday to be proud of all my fellow South Africans, instead of just being proud to be South African.
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