Revisiting the excitement and patriotic fervour of National Day

Dubai: Colourful ribbons, badges, stickers, flags and everything that had a combination of red, black, green and white, adorned the walls of stationary shops, with people of all ages flocking to buy as much as they could before the items ran out of stock — a scene from the past that is still engraved in my mind, of people clearly excited and happy to celebrate UAE's National Day.

On the UAE's 38th National Day, those memories came flowing back and I found myself remembering and missing every detail of how I used to celebrate the National Day at school.

December 2 has always been a day that we, as pupils, used to wait eagerly for and start preparations months in advance, with our teachers supervising the event.

I remember making large posters with pictures of the seven rulers of the UAE and other posters with images of famous landmarks from each emirate linked with the image of Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder of the UAE.

I also remember rushing to every stationary shop in my neighbourhood to buy the best ‘National Day accessories' and stationary I could find.

The feeling of joy that used to grip me [seeing all the stuff piled up as if they are saying take me!] was extraordinary — all for the love of the UAE, a great country which offers everything for its citizens to live a decent life under the wise leadership of our father Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Unusual energy

On the day of the celebrations, I remember waking up with unusual energy and eagerness to go to school.

After getting dressed for the occasion and armed with flags and ribbons, I used to head to school, where celebrations would start after the morning assembly and would go on for the entire day with a short break in between.

Singing the national anthem on National Day used to evoke a different feeling and sense of patriotism in everyone, even among our expatriate teachers who hailed from Egypt, Sudan and other Arab countries.

What actually prompted me to write this piece was the fact that I feel National Day is not being celebrated with the same patriotic spirit as it used to be some years ago, especially among the younger generation.

The patriotic spirit, I felt, has declined over the years, as I have observed among some youngsters, some of whom belong to my own family.

I asked my 16-year-oldbrother what National Day meant to him. His instant response: "Car rally on Al Mamzar Corniche!"

That could just be a spontaneous reaction from a teenager looking to do something fun on the day by taking part in car rallies which include young and old, who come out in their decorated cars to express their feelings about National Day by waving flags, playing patriotic songs and joining long queues of cars.

My brother's answer got me thinking how many youngsters of his age and younger know the significance of December 2.

How many of them would know how the seven emirates came together to form one country, who was responsible for it and why it had happened?

Although these facts are considered basic information taught at school, I believe it is still not enough.

One of the reasons could be the fact that nowadays less participation is requested from pupils for the National Day celebrations.

Not compulsory

Another reason, I believe, is that attending National Day celebrations is not ‘compulsory' in most schools.

Attendance for National Day celebrations should be treated as a priority and pupils should be encouraged to attend because it is more than just a celebration.

What happened on this day teaches pupils and adds to their knowledge about the federation and the significance of National Day.

Another aspect is that children at the kindergarten and primary levels are more excited about National Day celebrations in schools.

However, that excitement starts to fade as they grow older, which should not happen.

The spirit of patriotism should grow stronger as one grows up.

I have no doubts that each Emirati feels lucky to be a citizen of this great land, but that feeling alone is not enough, it should be expressed and utilised to contribute to the country's development — we must give back some of what this country has given us, starting from education, job opportunities, security and stability and a decent life, to name a few.

This year, with all the celebrations that started in advance, National Day and the scale of the celebrations did make me feel that the patriotic fervour felt during my childhood days is coming back.

Aim higher

We need to keep this going and aim for even bigger celebrations to emphasise the greatness of our country and its leadership, who put their citizens' welfare above anything else following what the great father and founder of the UAE, Shaikh Zayed had said: "The real asset of any advanced nation is its people, especially the educated ones, and the prosperity and success of the people are measured by the standard of their education."