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SOUTH AFRICANS have a strange habit of celebrating traditions that had absolutely nothing to do with us in the first place.

Tonight most of us, myself probably included, will stare into the sky in glorious anticipation of the fiery feast that is to erupt in honour of Guy Fawkes Day ? which stems from an attempt in 1605 to blow up the English Parliament along with the ruling monarch King James I.

Lagging not far behind the 5 November celebration, along comes 25 December. Celebrating the birth of Christ is in itself is obviously fine, but the inclusion of European-born Santa Claus or St Nicolas dressed in winter woollies flying over South Africa in December is a very different matter.

And don't even mention Halloween, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy.

It is not that these stories are bad, or even bad for you, but rather that their mass distribution to kids and grown-ups alike seem shameful, especially when they pale in comparison to what our own country, and even this region, has to offer.

A fine example is the white cloud that spills over Table Mountain when the south-eastern wind blows during summer.

This is said to be a sign that Jan van Hunks, an 18th century Dutch pirate, and the Devil are continuing an age old smoking contest.

Legend has it that Van Hunks retired from his eventful life at sea to live on the slopes of Devil's Peak, where he often walked up the mountain to settle down and smoke his pipe.

One day a mysterious stranger approached him and asked to borrow some tobacco.

A smoking contest ensued, with the winner's prize a ship full of gold.

After several days Van Hunks finally defeated the stranger, who turned out to be the Devil.

Van Hunks disappeared, leaving behind only a scorched patch of ground.

Another is the legend of the witch of the Hex River, said to appear as a young woman in the lower crags of the Matroosberg.

She was Eliza Meiring and lived in the middle years of the 19th century. She fell in love with a young man but demanded that, to marry her, he must pick her a red disa in the kloofs of the Matroosberg. While on this valiant mission, he fell to his death.

Eliza was so beside herself with grief that she became mentally ill and was kept locked in her bedroom.

One moonlit night she broke out and escaped and somewhere on a rocky outcrop she too fell to her death. Now Eliza still wanders the crags of the Matroosberg, when the moon is full, dramatically clad in her white night gown, known as the witch of the Hex River.

There are many more of these local stories and legends created by people of a country filled with more than enough to be proud of and enjoy without looking to distant shores for more exciting options.

Celebrating Van Hunks Day or telling your kids about the possibility of a visit from the Hex River witch, might not (yet) have the same festive ring to it, but in my opinion it beats waiting for a fat guy in an unfashionable red suit by far.

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