Christmas Day falls on a Sunday in 2022 and in South Africa, the scheduling of this December global holiday on the calendar came along with a gift-wrapped extended long weekend.
On what day does Christmas Day fall in 2022?
This year, Christmas will be observed on Sunday, 25 December 2022, a rare occurrence considering that this will be the fourth time in this century that the birth of Jesus Christ falls on this day.
Retired History professor Jack Wallace revealed in a Quora thread that Christmas Day will fall on Sunday at least five more times between 2022 and 2061.
While there is no historical significance attached to Christmas Day falling on Sunday, Christian researchers have long battled with the question of the exact date Jesus was born.
However, to this day, historical sources and biblical scholars can only assume that Jesus Christ was born on 25 December between 6 and 4 BC.
Here’s why Sunday Christmas gifted South Africans a long weekend
In South Africa, as in the rest of the Western world, Christmas Day is recognised as a religious holiday. Christians all across the world practice similar traditions in celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
However, in South Africa, this December holiday marks an important day in the year. Families usually gather for luncheons and spend the day reconnecting after a morning church service.
Since South Africa is a melting pot of different cultures and religions, a faction of the population that does not recognise the holiday still enjoys the perk of not clocking in for work if Christmas Day falls on a weekday.
In 2022, a unique public holiday scheduling prompted President Cyril Ramaphosa to gift South Africans an extra public holiday on Tuesday, 27 December 2022.
While political tongue waggers criticised the embattled president for using the declaration to win over hearts amid the ongoing ‘Phala Phala‘ scandal, the 27 December 2022 holiday was a mere consequence of a technicality.
Boxing Day in 2022 falls on Monday, 26 December 2022, a day after Sunday Christmas.
Therefore, due to the occurrence of two public holidays falling on Sunday and Monday, Ramaphosa was obliged to enforce the rules of the Public Holidays Act, which declare that “whenever a public holiday falls on a Sunday, the following Monday shall be a public holiday.”
For holidaymakers in South Africa, this is a greater incentive to explore the best South Africa has to offer, while workers will enjoy another paid off-day.