Celebrating National Day Across The Gulf
As the year is coming to an end, many countries in the Arabian Gulf celebrate their history and national pride through various festivities. Similarly ...
Nov 30, 2013
As the year is coming to an end, many countries in the Arabian Gulf celebrate their history and national pride through various festivities. Similarly to the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain all commemorate their national unity and formation through their own national day celebrations.
Celebrated only weeks apart, the festivities in these countries also closely resemble that of each other.
Oman celebrates their National Day on Nov. 18. The day commemorates the birthday of Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, as well as the independence of Oman from the Portuguese on Nov. 18, 1650.
“[The celebration] is very similar to [the one in the UAE],” said sophomore Noor Al Mahrooqi, who is from Muscat. “The Omani flag is put up everywhere. People go out in their cars, honk their horns and go crazy on the street.”
Schools in Oman have different National Day celebrations. Students dress up in Omani traditional dress and participate in festive activities such as dances and skits. There are also fireworks and military parades organized by the government.
Later in the month, Omanis enjoy a National Day holiday. This year’s holiday is observed from Nov. 27 and 28.
Following the UAE’s National Day celebration on Dec. 2, Bahrain celebrates its National Day on Dec. 16 to commemorate King Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa’s ascension to the throne in 1961.
Bahrain’s National Day celebration is very similar to that of the UAE or Oman. Events included fireworks, folk band performances and an address from His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. School students also took part in the celebration by performing patriotic songs in morning assemblies.
This year, the inaugural National Day Festival will take place from Dec. 13 to 17 at the Bahrain International Circuit. The festival is expected to be a carnival-style exhibition with 200 retail booths from Bahraini businesses, performances and games.
Qatar celebrates its National Day on Dec. 18, commemorating the start of Sheikh Jassim Bin Mohammed Bin Thani’s ruling in 1878. Up until 2007, Qatar’s National Day fell on Sept. 3, which marked the day the country gain its independence from Britain. Similar to other Gulf countries, celebrations in Qatar include a national military parade, air jets show and firework.
The similarities that the UAE, Oman and other Gulf countries share in the celebration of the national days may come from the international mixing across the Gulf.
“There are a lot of Omanis here and Emiratis in Oman, so they want to make the holidays similar for both populations,” Al Mahrooqi said.
Thinh Tran is a staff writer. Email her at editorial@thegazelle.org.
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