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THE WEDDING DATE
"LET US JOIN HANDS
AND BUILD A TRULY
SOUTH AFRICAN NATION"
LATE PRESIDENT NELSON MANDELA ON THE FIRST NATIONAL RECONCILIATION DAY
16 DECEMBER 1995
WE ARE PLANNING TO HAVE OUR WEDDING ON TUESDAY DECEMBER 16TH IN SANDTON, JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA. DECEMBER 16TH IS A SPECIAL DAY IN SOUTH AFRICA AND IS KNOWN AS THE DAY OF RECONCILIATION, A SIGNIFICANT DATE IN BOTH AFRICAN AND AFRIKANER CULTURES. IT BECAME A HOLIDAY IN 1994, THE YEAR THAT SOUTH AFRICA HELD ITS FIRST DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS MARKING THE END OF APARTHEID. THE DAY IS ALSO THE OFFICIAL START OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN SUMMER HOLIDAY WITH MOST PEOPLE TAKING OFF FROM WORK UNTIL THE SECOND WEEK OF JANUARY. INCLUDED BELOW IS SOME MORE INFORMATION ON THIS SIGNIFICANT DATE AND ALSO THE MESSAGE LATE PRESIDENT NELSON MANDELA GAVE ON THE FIRST DAY OF RECONCILIATION - 16 DECEMBER 1995.
Look forward to seeing all of you.
Kind regards,
Ron
MESSAGE BY PRESIDENT
NELSON MANDELA
ON THE FIRST NATIONAL RECONCILIATION DAY
16 DECEMBER 1995
There are few countries which dedicate a national public holiday to reconciliation. But then there are few nations with our history of enforced division, oppression and sustained conflict. And fewer still, which have undergone such a remarkable transition to reclaim their humanity.
We, the people of South Africa, have made a decisive and irreversible break with the past. We have, in real life, declared our shared allegiance to justice, non-racialism and democracy; our yearning for a peaceful and harmonious nation of equals.
The rainbow has come to be the symbol of our nation. We are turning the variety of our languages and cultures, once used to divide us, into a source of strength and richness.
But we do know that healing the wounds of the past and freeing ourselves of its burden will be a long and demanding task. This Day of Reconciliation celebrates the progress we have made; it reaffirms our commitment; and it measures the challenges.
The Government of National Unity chose this day precisely because the past had made December 16 a living symbol of bitter division. Valour was measured by the number of enemies killed and the quantity of blood that swelled the rivers and flowed in the streets.
Today we no longer vow our mutual destruction but solemnly acknowledge our inter-dependence as free and equal citizens of our common Motherland. Today we re-affirm our solemn constitutional compact to live together on the basis of equality and mutual respect.
Reconciliation however, does not mean forgetting or trying to bury the pain of conflict.
Two terrible defects weakened the foundations of the modern South African state that were laid in the great upheaval at the beginning of the Century. Firstly, it rested on the treacherous swamps of racism and inequality. The second defect was the suppression of truth.
Now, at the end of the Century, South Africans have the real chance to strike out along a glorious path. The democratic foundations of our society have been laid. We must use our collective strengths to carry on building the nation and improving its quality of life.
The Truth and National Reconciliation Commission which will soon begin its work, is one important institution created by our democratic Constitution and Parliament in order to help us manage the more difficult aspects of healing the nation`s wounds. Thus we shall free ourselves from the burden of yester-year; not to return there; but to move forward with the confidence of free men and women, committed to attain the best for ourselves and future generations.
Reconciliation means working together to correct the legacy of past injustice. It means making a success of our plans for reconstruction and development.
Therefore, on this December 16, National Day of Reconciliation, my appeal to you, fellow citizens, is: Let us join hands and build a truly South African nation.
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RECONCILIATION DAY
16 DECEMBER 1995
THE BACKGROUND
& HISTORY
DECEMBER 16 IS AN IMPORTANT DAY IN SOUTH AFRICA, CALLED DAY OF RECONCILIATION.
Before 1994 this public holiday was known as ‘Dingaans Day’, or ‘Day of the Vow’ or ‘Day of the Covenant’ - a day that was considered to be a religious holiday to commemorate a distinguished battle - a battle that had occurred on 6 December 1838 between 470 white Afrikaners (Voortrekkers) under the leadership of Andries Potgieter and, according to disputable historical journals, between 10,000 and 15,000 Zulu's under the leadership of their king, Dingane.
As sincere and devoted Christians, the Afrikaners believed that God had given them the strength to win this battle, hence the erection of the imposing Voortrekker Monument that was inaugurated on 16 December 1949 and the implementation of religious rituals equivalent to the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
After Apartheid had been demolished in 1994, this day became THE DAY for South Africans to celebrate reconciliation.
The Battle of Blood Rivier
The Voortrekker Monument
THE VOORTREKKER MONUMENT
The construction of a majestic monument started on July 13, 1937 to be finally inaugurated on December 16, 1949 as a symbol of gratefulness because God had protected a group of 450 Voortrekkers - while so many did not survive and some had even died from the most dreaded disease, Yellow-Fever, which is until today still a dangerous threat.
This monument was also a prominent symbol of Apartheid, but thanks to the reconciliation policy enforced by Nelson Mandela - the first black president of a democratic South Africa - the monument was declared a National Heritage site on July 8, 2011. (Nelson Mandela was the country's president from 1994 to 1999; his reconciliation policy has yet not been rejected by the ANC, the ruling party since 1994.)
Today the people of Mzantzi (the Xhosa word for South Africa) still have the privilege to admire and utilize the monument inter alia as a tourist attraction and an ideal venue for classical music and choral performances. With its fantastic acoustics, the Hall of Heroes can accommodate up to 600 people and the lower level, the Cenotaph Hall, up to 900. Read more about the function of this imposing monument at www.voortrekker_monument/
Christians may still regard it as a symbol of God's power to dispose while mankind proposes and even practise their idea of justice and injustice for many years.
RECONCILIATION
Nelson Mandela & FW De Klerk - 1994
THE BATTLE OF BLOOD RIVER
The Voortrekkers (Pioneers) were the culmination of discontented white Afrikaner farmers, (Boers), who had lived on farms on the border of the British-ruled Cape Colony between 1779 to 1879. These Afrikaners were the descendants of European migrants who saw the Cape of Good Hope as an escape from poverty, war and oppression in Europe since 1652.
When these farmers eventually had enough of British Colonialism and its unsuccessful and even careless efforts to protect them against hostile Xhosa-tribes, they decided to cross the Orange River to find a place where they could live in peace and harmony. Numerous preliminary scout patrols had foreseen only peaceful negotiations involving the purchasing of land and non of the sanguinary battles that would eventually in the 20th century end up in the establishment of the unjust regime, Apartheid.
Once on the other side of the Orange River the typical human tendency to divide instead of staying united sent one group straight to the north, the other group to the East and other groups to wherever they thought they would find the peace and prosperity they were yearning for.
The group that went east had a series of mountains to overcome with permission of the then friendly Basothu (people of Sotho) before they finally found themselves in the kingdom of yet another hostile African nation - The amaZulu (people of Zulu), who was prior to the Groot Trek reigned by King Shaka KaSenzangakhona. At the time the Voortrekkers’ met the amaZulu, Shaka's half-brother, Dingane KaSenzangakhona, was their king.
After the leader of one of the Voortrekker groups, Piet Retief, as well as his son and co-negotiators - were massacred during a meeting that was arranged with King Dingaan to trade cattle for land (February 6, 1838), the Voortrekkers realized that their lives were in danger,
The Battle of Blood River was one of many battles during this time, but distinguished by the Afrikaners as a sign that God was truly on their side by giving them - a group of only 450 - a victory over 10,000-plus Zulus. Today we take their victory for granted: 450 guns against 10,000 spears.
Nevertheless, the Voortrekker leader, Andries Pretorius, had made prior to the battle a vow to God: If they win the battle, they and their offspring will ‘forever’ commemorate the day as a Sabbath. And this is the reason why a small contingent of white South Africans refuse to accept any changes God - or rather their idea of God - has disposed in South Africa while man has proposed.
http://www.keynotespeakers.co.za/_fw_de_klerk.html
In 1993 the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to Nelson Mandela, the first president of the New South Africa, and Frederik Willem de Klerk, the last president of the Old South Africa with its apartheid regime. These two presidents laid the foundation for a democratic South Africa and were the first politicians demonstrating a spirit of reconciliation that led to the official changing of Dingaan’s Day to Day of Reconciliation.
© Martie Coetser (December 2011)
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