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DAY OF GOODWILL HOLIDAY AND BEACH PARTY

October 16, 2014 By Howard Kramer Leave a Comment

Cape Town, South Africa

Day of Goodwill (sa-venues.com)

Day of Goodwill (sa-venues.com)

South Africa, once a colony of the British Empire and currently a member of the British Commonwealth, inherited the tradition of Boxing Day from its former association with England.  For much of the 20th century, Boxing Day in South Africa was synonymous with relaxation, sports and beach parties.  However, while South Africans did embrace the holiday, they did not care for its connection to their old colonial status.  Therefore, in 1994, Boxing Day was rechristened the “Day of Goodwill”.

Boxing Day, which takes place every year on December 26th, originated as the Feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr.  Because of this feast’s importance in the British Isles, and because of its proximity to Christmas, it became an integral part of the holidays in England and Ireland, later spreading to all corners of the British Empire.  In South Africa, one of the southernmost and warmest (at Christmastime) of the British dependencies, this meant lots of outdoor events and parties.

Table Mountain (wikipedia.com)

Table Mountain (wikipedia.com)

Today, long after the end of both Colonialism and Apartheid, South Africans from all over the country continue to celebrate the day.  This is especially true in the coastal regions, where residents have turned the Day of Goodwill into a beach holiday.  No where is this more true than in Cape Town, where locals and visitors flock to the beaches in the country’s unofficial day-after Christmas party.  For long this has been little more than a mass gathering of sun-hungry celebrants, but it is becoming bigger every year.  It has the makings of becoming a major, organized event sometime during the next decade.

There is little effort to enjoying the Day of Goodwill beach party.  Just pick a beach and show up.  For something more upscale, try one of the “Riviera” beaches on the Atlantic side.  For family friendly, aim for one of the beaches on the Indian Ocean side.  No additional visitor information was available as of this writing.  Web: www.sa-venues.com/events/southafrica/day-of-goodwill (official tourism website of South Africa)

Filed Under: Christmas Tagged With: Africa (Sub-Sahara)

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About Howard Kramer

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is a culmination of years of his work and passion.

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Welcome to The Complete Pilgrim(TM)! This site, created by Howard Kramer, is a combination travel blog and online guide to the world's greatest sites of religious interest (with some historic and recreational places thrown in for good measure). All written content has been originally researched and produced and is provided free for public research and enjoyment. Thank you for visiting!

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Where would you like to go?

Africa (North) Africa (Sub-Sahara) Arabia Armenia/Azerbaijan/Georgia Australia/Pacific Austria/Switzerland Balkans Belgium/Netherlands British Isles Canada Caribbean Central Asia China Czech Republic Egypt France Germany Greece Hungary/Romania/Bulgaria India (NE)/Nepal India (NW) India (South)/Sri Lanka Iran/Iraq Israel Italy/Malta Japan/Korea Latin America Mexico Palestine Poland/Lithuania Russia Scandinavia Southeast Asia Spain/Portugal Syria/Jordan/Lebanon Turkey/Cyprus Ukraine US-California US-Mid Atlantic US-Midwest US-New England US-New York US-Pacific Northwest US-South US-Southwest

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Have a comment, a great photo or a religious site you'd like to nominate for the weekly spotlight? We would love to hear from you. Email us at hkramer@thecompletepilgrim.com.

About the Author

Howard Kramer is the creator and author of The Complete Pilgrim. He first took an interest in religious sites in his early twenties when traveling through Italy after college. In the two decades since he has traveled to more than two dozen countries and almost every state, visiting and photographing hundreds of the world’s greatest churches, synagogues and other places of religious interest. Howard has been writing about religious sites for the better part of the last decade, and The Complete Pilgrim is the culmination of years of his work and passion.

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