The ‘Day of the Vow’ (Geloftedag) will be celebrated again on 16 December 2021. It is a religious public holiday in South Africa and is an important day, especially for the Boer people, in the country.
The day originates from the Battle of Blood River on 16 December 1838, when the Voortrekkers, approximately 400 of them, made a promise to God that if He rescue them out of the hands of an attack by thousands of Zulu warriors that they will honor that day as a holy day and never forget what God did for them.
Historians estimate that between 10000 and 20000 Zulus attacked the voortrekkers and that only three Voortrekkers (including Voortrekker leader Pretorius) were wounded, none were killed.
16 December was made an annual national holiday in 1910 and was renamed Day of the Vow in 1982. In 1994, it was replaced by the Day of Reconciliation, an annual holiday also on 16 December.
Services will be held around the country to mark this covenant.
The most famous gathering point is the Voortrekker Monument Heritage Site, Eeufees Road, Groenkloof in Pretoria.
