For all the South Africans, happy Heritage Day for yesterday! For everyone else, welcome to the braai! Stay a while and share in the fun!

The History of this day and South Africa's Multiculturalism

Heritage day is a public Holiday in South Africa. So we stay at home, or, if we work, it is double pay. It is a day that South Africans are meant to be celebrating their Heritage, whatever that may be.

This day is actually a contraction of various different cultural holidays. This was done in promotion of National unity of a country that has so very many cultures.
South Africa has 11 Official Languages. With most school Children Learning 2 to 3 of those languages. The 3rd is generally dependant on their local area and the tribes that called that are the ancestral home.

We live in 2024 however and people who speak each of those languages can be found in each of the provinces.

We have Europeans of British decent. We have Europeans of French, Dutch and German decent. We have Europeans from several and all of these European families intermingled. Those that speak Afrikaans at home are generally called Afrikaners. Then there are those that speak English at home. Some of those still have familial British Passports.

We then have the African/Bantu tribes as mentioned above. They bring us the languages: IsiZulu, isiXhosa, isiNdebele, siSwati, Sepedi or Sesotho sa Leboa, Tshivenda, Xitsonga, Sesotho and Setswana.

But there is even more. The coloured community are actually quite diverse. There are large amounts of people from Malaysian and Indian descent. Some pure lineage and some mixed. Of the mixed groups there are the "Cape Coloureds" who may have heritage from any of the above in any combination. There are groups of them who speak only Afrikaans at home. Some are Christian. Some are Muslim. The Indians are Hindu. And so many in between.

Yeah... South Africa has a lot of culture!

So there used to be a Shaka Day for the Zulu, the Afrikaners used to have a Taaldag in August. There two were contracted into Heritage day. A day to observe your heritage and be proud of who you are, no matter who you are.

Sometimes the "coloured" community get a bit defensive about not being a "pure race", which is a holdback from the Apartheid days. A silly concept that was a racially implicated class system.

I implore all to recognise that mixed heritage is also South African heritage. Look at those Afrikaners (from which I am decended). They are mixed European. So mixed that their people do not belong to one or another European nation.

Names like Jean Pierre De Kock... that is a French name and a Dutch Surname. Or there are surnames that have a German lineage but the name changed in South Africa.

Anyway, this is not meant to be a serious politically driven post. More just giving the background to what many of us call: Braai Day

The Braai

"To braai" is to cook your food on the coals of a wood or charcoal fire... you can braai on gas too, but what is the point?

"To have a braai" is to host an event. We braai, play music, bring friends and/or family, and socialize. It comes with drinks and snacks and games. Whatever entertainment is available to that household goes with a braai!

The fire is lit, my strange child is very excited! LOL

The other kids are playing and roughhousing.

The fairy lights hanging from the pergola are put on. We will need them as it gets darker.

A quick selfie of the braai area. Of course my teenager is in the background making things look very dramatic!

My Chicken has been in the marinade. I shall do a Foodies post about the exact steps to make your Chicken Braai a winner every single time! Yummy!

Besides the Chicken we shall do some braai sausage and two Garlic Loaves on the fire! Here is @aimeludick and @matthew-williams.

Aha! The fire has burned down to coals, there are still three logs that are on fire, but I put them on the side and spread the coals out, it is time to braai! You don't want to lose the heat from your coals!

The logs on the side will help with a bit of mood lighting hehe.

The Chicken comes outside. Chicken is done first. It takes the longest to braai and nobody wants raw chicken braai meat!

Here is a cool little observation. The chicken goes on the braai and the oven-proof container that was holding them for marinade goes on the fire. This is to cook it, boil it, make it clean. It WAS holding raw chicken, so this sauce needs a quick boil to make it safe!

Cheers. That is some Smirnoff Spin in my mug. The Braaimaster must sit and tend the fire. I generally enjoy this role. However, as a host, it is my pergitive to do this, at someone else's house, they may ask me to braai and they my offer to braai my meat. There is a bit of protocall for such things I feel. Unwritten rules.

With the Chicken taking on a nice golden brown and a char on the sauce, it is time for the Wors (Sausage) and this goes quick. When the sausage is able to snap from a twist, it is ready!

The garlic bread is now on the grille.

As a Heritage thing, I need to pass on knowledge to my children and teach and talk them through the process. You will notice that the Chicken is back in the sauce bowl but on the side of the fire to retain heat.

Nearly ready! Look at that glow from the coals! Wonderful!

Cheers my love @clairemobey! Happy Heritage Day 2024!

We survived and despite everything, thrived!

We would have eaten outside but it got cold very fast. So we went to eat inside and watch a movie.

It was delicious! Claire says that I have become her ideal mate because I have mastered Garlic Bread 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😘😍

It takes all sorts folks! Hehe.

Thank you for joining us on our Heritage Day. I hope that everyone was able to do something on the day that commemorated or gave honour to their culture and heritage!

Cheers!
@zakludick

Hive South Africa