Staff members of the Grahamstown Magistrates Court celebrated South Africa's colourful heritage on Friday by showcasing different cultural garb and foods. Colleagues of all races and cultures dressed up in different traditional outfits, as an early celebration for heritage Day on Saturday. It is celebrated on 24 September in South Africa and is also known as Braai Day.
A buffet was served up where colleagues had a chance to indulge in a delicious selection of traditional food, as well as traditional sorghum beer. Court manager, Petrus Ockhuis, encouraged staff to strive to remain unified in their diversity.” We gather here today to recognise our backgrounds, cultures, beliefs, traditions, and religions," he said. Although previously the heritages of all South Africans were not recognised, Ockhuis said that now" things have changed for the better for all of us”. He said the day was p
Staff members of the Grahamstown Magistrates Court celebrated South Africa's colourful heritage on Friday by showcasing different cultural garb and foods. Colleagues of all races and cultures dressed up in different traditional outfits, as an early celebration for heritage Day on Saturday. It is celebrated on 24 September in South Africa and is also known as Braai Day.
A buffet was served up where colleagues had a chance to indulge in a delicious selection of traditional food, as well as traditional sorghum beer. Court manager, Petrus Ockhuis, encouraged staff to strive to remain unified in their diversity.” We gather here today to recognise our backgrounds, cultures, beliefs, traditions, and religions," he said. Although previously the heritages of all South Africans were not recognised, Ockhuis said that now" things have changed for the better for all of us”. He said the day was particularly important in the workplace, and that people should honour and respect the diversity of cultures and languages that they find themselves in.
State prosecutor Zwelethu Mata wholeheartedly agreed with Ockhuis, saying Heritage Day is about recognising the origins of everyone. “This is a day to recognise who we are, where we come from, and where we are heading to,” said Mata. “It’s a day on which we can celebrate and relive a heritage given to us by our ancestors. Heritage Day is all about celebrating one’s culture,” he said.
The day's guest speaker was Celeste Booth, the assistant curator at the Albany Museum's archaeology department, who spoke about how heritage day came about, and warned that if people don't take care of natural resources like our wildlife, future South Africans will only see their pictures in books.
The audience was then serenaded with traditional music from various South African ethnic groups including Xhosa, English, and Afrikaans. When the singing groups took to the stage to belt out a folk song medley, even the court manager joined in, much to the ululation and delight of the audience.
