In this 10th year of South Africa's freedom, here are 10 ways we can celebrate our heritage, from Proudly South African:
1. Explore and discover our country - And while you're at it, visit our heritage sites. Not sure where they are? Click on www.southafrica.info to plan your trip from experience to experience.
2. Show your true colours and fly our flag - Be an ambassador for South Africa and fly our flag in thought, word and deed. After all, marketing South Africa is everyone's business and each and every one of us, through our behaviour, the words we use and the stories we tell, can make a difference in how we see ourselves and how the rest of the world perceives South Africa. Think of our progressive constitution, Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela as just a start.
3. Celebrate our successes and share your life story - We have a lot to be proud of: We continue to inspire the world to a new way of doing things, because our unique combinations create refreshing possibilities.
4. Proudly buy South African products and make use of South African services. This is not only a celebration of our heritage but it helps to sustain our economy too. Marmite, boerewors, Mrs Balls Chutney, Ouma's Rusks and biltong...does it get any better than that?! Why not host a Heritage Day lunch and serve only South African food?
5. Learn our anthem - We must be the only country to have a national anthem composed in five different languages - and probably the only one whose people don't know the words to all of the verses! Our anthem, with its different languages and its different tunes, is a reflection of the diversity of our nation, and the words of each verse proudly proclaim the love we all have for this awesome country. Go to www.southafrica.info to learn the words to the entire anthem and do a private karaoke session while you learn. You'll do the nation proud the next time you stand up and sing with pride!
6. Recognise the role our past has played in shaping what South Africa has become today - Read up on the parts of our history that you don't know or haven't thought of since your were a child. Read the biographies of some of South Africa's awesome heroes. Remember the challenges and celebrate the successes - go to www.sahistory.org.za/ to begin.
7. Learn the story of our flag - Did you know that our flag is the third most recognized flag in the world? It is also certainly one of the most loved by its people. Fly our flag this Heritage Month!
8. Learn one more of our 11 languages and explore the culture attached to it - Learn more about the other races of the South African nation and open your eyes to the amazing diversity of South Africa's people, and at the same time, indulge in other tastes and flavours.
9. Celebrate our progressive constitution - No other country in the world is blessed with a constitution like ours - it's one of the most progressive in the world. You can celebrate and commemorate this by exercising your democratic rights and respecting the rights of others to begin with.
10. Live "Ubuntu" -"I am because we are" - Show hospitality and warmth to fellow countrymen and visitors alike. Mostly, it is about togetherness and teamwork, attributes that have helped to build the rainbow nation and that will keep the rainbow intact for years to come.
