What does heritage mean to you? 'Cultural Mosaic' verses 'Rainbow Nation'

I was asked to write something on heritage as it is the week that we celebrate Heritage Day in our great nation. On this day, South Africans are encouraged to celebrate their culture and the diversity of their beliefs and traditions, in the wider context of a nation that belongs to all its people.

It made me question: what does heritage mean? And what is the difference between heritage, culture, and tradition?

Culture is loosely defined as a set of patterns of human activity within a community or social group and the symbolic structures that give significance to such activity. Customs, laws, dress, architectural style, social standards, religious beliefs, and traditions are all examples of cultural elements. Within the concept of Culture, you have the culture of your community, your region, your ethnic group, your society (ex: organisation or institution such as place of work), and civilization.

Tradition is a custom or belief that is passed down through the generations or that is done time after time or year after year.

The reason why I take the time to explain the meaning of each of these terms is that I myself am guilty of throwing around these terms lightly; whether it be to easily explain WHY I am the way I am, or why I am assuming others are making the decisions or doing things for certain reasons.

The problem comes when we talk about a multiracial, multi-ethnic, religiously diverse country such as South Africa. I compare this to my birth country, Canada. What makes for our national sense of identity and "Heritage"? In Canada we were raised to say that we are a 'Cultural Mosaic'. Similarly, in South Africa this is a country with its own indigenous people, various African tribes, varying regions, then European colonists who settled here from different European countries and brought over slaves from various parts of South Asia, and then more recently immigrants such as me from around the world!

From an outsider's perspective, what I do see here is the remanence of the Apartheid past. As much as we would like to think that we have moved beyond those dark years, I see groups still identifying with their historical racial categories and within those, religious and regional segmentation without much thought. What does it really mean to be White/Indian/Coloured or Black? Most South Africans I know have parents that are 2nd generation immigrants from somewhere or another, that mixed with other South Africans, and yet remain at least psychologically confined to these groups defined by a long-gone past.

Don't get me wrong. I think it's great to be able to take the best of our individual and family heritage and carry certain traditions forward: my children proudly say that they are English/Canadian/Japanese, but born in South Africa. We celebrate Canadian thanksgiving, Christmas with turkey and trimmings in African summer, Japanese New Year and I teach them about Japanese discipline and some Japanese and French here and there. My children also all take isiZulu language classes at school and Nkosi sikelel' iAfrika is the only national anthem they know.

Even though it wasn't pleasant to fully belonging to any one group growing up, I feel lucky, seeing people feeling a sense of negative obligation to what they perceive to be the norms or rules of their community, their religion, etc.

So, what is South African Heritage and Culture? This foreigner says: "It is an explosion of ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity.".

We are truly fortunate that our young nation was founded upon the values of reconciliation and forgiveness while still harbouring the fresh scars and trauma of its apartheid past.

Ours is a "General Heritage" that is hard to define, so let's take what is best from our family's old customs and make our own new customs and traditions that honour where we came from, but do not define or hinder us from where we want to go Ð Let us unite in our diversities and respect and honour each other's humility.