There are more ways than one to prove one's patriotism. National Day presents both young and old with an opportunity to try these out. One schoolgirl commissioned her mother, a hairdresser, to come up with a new coiffe specially for the occasion.
Helena Ayoub, seven years old, may have started a trend with her new do evoking the UAE flag - one her classmates at Al Mawaqeb School in Garhood are sure to emulate. Her mother, Maro Daldalian, has lived in Dubai for 15 years.
Two years ago, the Lebanese-Armenian hair-stylist opened a beauty salon in Bur Dubai called "Salon Helena." Sitting with her legs dangling off the salon chair, Helena was as demanding as the stylish madames who patron her mother's services.
Daldalian first sectioned off her daughter's ultra-long brown hair, crimped two locks one each side, then painted red, green and silver bars with gel and sparkle dust. Helena asked her mother to use red sparkle dust in spelling "UAE" on her fringe.
Wearing a custom-made traditional dress and UAE flag stickers on her cheeks, Helena will be showing off her new look at a dinner tonight celebrating National Day.
"First there was President His Highness Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, then everyone else," said Helena, relating what she knows of the federation's history. When she grows up, she would like to become a jockey. Helena loves horses, said her mother. Like a true blue resident, one might say.
Patriotism - an idea off the top of her head
There are more ways than one to prove one's patriotism. National Day presents both young and old with an opportunity to try these out. One schoolgirl commissioned her mother, a hairdresser, to come up with a new coiffe specially for the occasion.
