Braai Day: What South Africa Does on 24 September — Epoche A2
24 September is Heritage Day in South Africa, and most of us spend it standing around a fire. Officially it is a day for our cultures and languages. Unofficially it has a second name: Braai Day. Why a fire? Because a braai is not a barbecue with a gas button. You buy wood, you build it, you wait. That waiting causes everything else. Nobody can rush a coal. The fire makes the afternoon long. The long afternoon makes people talk. The smell reaches the neighbours, and the neighbours come. And because somebody must watch the fire, somebody always stays outside, so everyone who arrives greets him first. On the grid today: boerewors, the long coiled farmer's sausage, one piece, never cut mielies — maize cobs, straight on the coals lamb chops, because my uncle says a braai without chops is a picnic braaibroodjies, toasted sandwiches with cheese, tomato and onion A public holiday usually means speeches and parades. This one means smoke over nine provinces and a million opinions about when the coals are ready. My grandmother says fire gathers people faster than any invitation. She is right, and she got the first chop. #HeritageDay #BraaiDay