Heritage Day is celebrated now during the month of September. A day when the vibrancy of cultures that is our South African nation, commemorate the diversity of beliefs and traditions that defines a culture. This celebration is about all of us learning about, respecting, and appreciating our own cultures and the culture of others.
Here at DCYCC we hold an Annual Heritage Day Celebration. Our children are encouraged to express their culture through song, dance, and poetry. As time draws closer to the function, the excitement builds. Our child care team sit and develop a ‘taster menu’. This menu offers a range of cultural foods for our children to enjoy; there’s coleslaw, breyani, madumbe, samoosa’s, tripe……it’s an extensive array of tantalising cultural dishes.
Whilst awareness of one’s culture is important for the development of identity, within the multicultural environment of our programme we see how children embrace their own customs and traditions, but also show a keen interest in those of the children they share their ‘temporary’ home with.
I recently sat and spoke with our teenage boys, a group representing all shades and backgrounds, and asked what was needed for them to live in harmony, the unanimous reply was – respect, kindness, communication, and a positive attitude. If only us adults could see our diversity through the eyes of our country’s children – oh how wonderful it would be!
Wishing you and your families a vibrant and enriching Heritage Day!