Every year on September 1 South Africans, usually in townships, welcome spring in a fun way by splashing water on each other to celebrate the new season.
Videos of people wearing summer clothes or swimming costumes and pouring buckets of water on each other have been trending on social media.
While this may seem fun and innocent, controversy erupted when people who were not part of the activities became targets.
In one viral clip, a frail homeless person was splashed with water while walking on a street.
Another video showed a scooter delivery driver being splashed with water while working. Other videos showed people being targeted without their consent. Some even opened motorists' vehicles and forced them out to splash them with water.
While some social media users viewed this as a “fun tradition”, others argued it was “disrespectful”.
Thabiso Nkabane posted on Facebook: “We did this to our elders and it was fine. They understood. Why are we being crybabies?”
Facebook user Samuel Sambo said this was a township tradition celebrated every year and urged those against it to avoid leaving their homes.
“On this day no-one is safe. It's not about respect or disrespect, especially for those who are familiar with September 1. It's a generation-to-generation risky fun day to welcome spring, played mostly in townships. A very annoying game and also dangerous. The only way to avoid it is to stay away during that time. When driving a car, lock it. To enjoy it, dress appropriately.”
Arthur Ndou said there must be boundaries when celebrating the day.
“The way they celebrated their Spring day was the problem, not the celebration itself. Growing up we also used to celebrate spring, but we knew where to draw the line. We never splashed water on adults or street vendors. What I saw on Monday was pure disrespect and ill manners at their highest level. I saw people being provoked and assaulted. It was more of a war than a celebration. It was even more embarrassing when it was being done by grown adults. There was nothing funny about it. Perhaps things have changed.”
The Gauteng department of community safety condemned a viral video of a traffic warden being splashed with water while on duty in Mamelodi.
“Such behaviour not only demonstrates disregard for an officer but also undermines the rule of law and the principles of respect and order in maintaining a safe society,” the department said.
Here are more videos from social media:
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