debates and problems around the day of reconciliation
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Day of Reconciliation, also called Day of the Vow, Day of the Covenant, or Dingane’s Day, public holiday observed in South Africa on December 16. The holiday originally commemorated the victory of the Voortrekkers (southern Africans of Dutch, German, or Huguenot descent who made the Great Trek) over the Zulus at the Battle of Blood River in 1838. Before the battle, the Voortrekkers had taken a vow that, if they succeeded in defeating the Zulus, they would build a church and observe the day as a religious holiday. The observance became known as Dingane’s Day (after the Zulu king Dingane), and in 1910 the day was established as a public holiday. In 1952 the ruling National Party passed the Public Holidays Act, which changed the holiday’s name to Day of the Covenant (later changed in 1980 to Day of the Vow) and formally declared the day a religious holiday. As a result, activities such as sports events and theatre performances were banned.