Table Mountain, Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town at dusk

It’s a beautiful evening here in Cape Town, South Africa. From this vantage point we have a striking view of Table Mountain, with its ‘tablecloth,’ or cloud cover that typically shrouds the local landmark. Cape Town is a popular tourist destination noted for its beaches, natural beauty, architecture, and multicultural diversity—and in that diversity, it's a showcase for South Africa that Archbishop Desmond Tutu called the ‘rainbow nation’).

We’re here today in honour of the Day of Reconciliation, a public holiday celebrated annually on December 16 that’s meant to celebrate unity. President Nelson Mandela and the government's Truth and Reconciliation Commission created the holiday in 1995 to heal the wounds after decades of apartheid, South Africa's system of institutionalised racial segregation and oppression. South Africans observe the day with parades and other festivities.