<Tr> <Th> First time </Th> <Td> 24 September 1995 </Td> </Tr> <P> Heritage Day is a South African public holiday celebrated on 24 September . 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 . </P> <P> In KwaZulu - Natal, 24 September was known as Shaka Day, in commemoration of the Zulu King, Shaka, on the presumed date of his death in 1828 . Shaka was the Zulu King who played an important role in uniting disparate Zulu clans into a cohesive nation . Each year people gather at King Shaka's grave to honour him on this day . The Public Holidays Bill presented to the new democratic Parliament of South Africa in 1995 did not have 24 September included on the list of proposed public holidays . As a result of this exclusion, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), a South African political party with a large Zulu membership, objected to the bill . Parliament and the IFP reached a compromise and the day was given its present title and seen as a public holiday . </P> <P>... when South Africans celebrate the diverse cultural heritage that makes up a "rainbow nation". It is the day to celebrate the contribution of all South Africans to the building of South Africa </P>

When did heritage day become a public holiday