CFTPAPOTROCRALC might sound like something in your toothpaste; two Romanian football players, or an Icelandic volcano, which could cloud out in undeserved unpopularity.
Eyjafjallajökull, readers will recall, was the volcano that went bang in April 14 2010, and cast a pall of ash over northern Europe, disrupted air travel for days and had lawyers searching frantically for somebody to sue.
The pall of Cftpapotrocralc could be as disruptive as those immense clouds of ash and as unpopular. Hence the need for the utmost discretion.
Few will be able to name its members, or to recall the times and places of their public hearings. The issues they have to handle certainly rival the heat and smoke of any volcano, but that is not their fault. This is not about renaming streets and things.
The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (Cftp ...), mercifully known as the “CRL Rights Commission” (CRLC), appears among the Institutions Supporting Democracy in Chapter 9 of our constitution. And a good thing, too.
It is tasked with the unenviable job of rearranging South Africa’s public holidays to accommodate and placate all our CRLCs – cultural, religious and linguistic communities. And there’s an inflammable box of brightly coloured things.
Older readers might recall the riots which erupted across England when that parliament decided to line up their calendar with Gregorian Europe.
The people took to the streets, presumably doing their indigenous toyitoyi – known there as Morris dancing – and chanting “give us back our 11 days!” To no avail. England went to sleep on Wednesday September 2 1752, and woke up on Thursday September 14. (No, the arithmetic doesn’t work.)
One day we could wake up to find today’s not a holiday. We may be the only country where all the major faiths bless our presidents at their inauguration (Is this true?). But public holidays for them all, say the accountants, could break the bank.
We do not, however, make the top 10 countries for public holidays – eight of those are in Europe and two in the Americas. Ask Wiki.
Suggestions so far sent to the CRL Commission would eliminate any of Boxing Day, Family Day and the Day of Reconciliation. Other holidays might be left to languish on Sundays, be pushed together, or cut in half.
It probably matters not at all if December 16 or Boxing Day are or are not official holidays. Factories will still close a week before Christmas and most businesses will close from Christmas to New Year.
Indeed, there is rather more ancient tradition than any of our faiths readily admit buried in the days we mark as religious holidays. December 25, or its Roman equivalent, was a holiday long before the birth of Christ. It was the only day to celebrate anything.
May 1, widely celebrated as Workers’ Day and the supposed start of spring only in the northern hemisphere, was a holiday before even the Romans marched onto the scene.
So there’s no need for panic. Rearranging our public holidays is expected to take another three years at least – with plenty of time for dancing in the streets.
Today’s Chiel is Gavin Stewart:
Clouds over a happy holiday
Eyjafjallajökull, readers will recall, was the volcano that went bang in April 14 2010, and cast a pall of ash over northern Europe, disrupted air travel for days and had lawyers searching frantically for somebody to sue.
The pall of Cftpapotrocralc could be as disruptive as those immense clouds of ash and as unpopular. Hence the need for the utmost discretion.
Few will be able to name its members, or to recall the times and places of their public hearings. The issues they have to handle certainly rival the heat and smoke of any volcano, but that is not their fault. This is not about renaming streets and things.
The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities (Cftp ...), mercifully known as the “CRL Rights Commission” (CRLC), appears among the Institutions Supporting Democracy in Chapter 9 of our constitution. And a good thing, too.
It is tasked with the unenviable job of rearranging South Africa’s public holidays to accommodate and placate all our CRLCs – cultural, religious and linguistic communities. And there’s an inflammable box of brightly coloured things.
Older readers might recall the riots which erupted across England when that parliament decided to line up their calendar with Gregorian Europe.
The people took to the streets, presumably doing their indigenous toyitoyi – known there as Morris dancing – and chanting “give us back our 11 days!” To no avail. England went to sleep on Wednesday September 2 1752, and woke up on Thursday September 14. (No, the arithmetic doesn’t work.)
One day we could wake up to find today’s not a holiday. We may be the only country where all the major faiths bless our presidents at their inauguration (Is this true?). But public holidays for them all, say the accountants, could break the bank.
We do not, however, make the top 10 countries for public holidays – eight of those are in Europe and two in the Americas. Ask Wiki.
Suggestions so far sent to the CRL Commission would eliminate any of Boxing Day, Family Day and the Day of Reconciliation. Other holidays might be left to languish on Sundays, be pushed together, or cut in half.
It probably matters not at all if December 16 or Boxing Day are or are not official holidays. Factories will still close a week before Christmas and most businesses will close from Christmas to New Year.
Indeed, there is rather more ancient tradition than any of our faiths readily admit buried in the days we mark as religious holidays. December 25, or its Roman equivalent, was a holiday long before the birth of Christ. It was the only day to celebrate anything.
May 1, widely celebrated as Workers’ Day and the supposed start of spring only in the northern hemisphere, was a holiday before even the Romans marched onto the scene.
So there’s no need for panic. Rearranging our public holidays is expected to take another three years at least – with plenty of time for dancing in the streets.
Today’s Chiel is Gavin Stewart:
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