- Archie Parkin
UAE National Day 2020
This Article was written by Archie Parkin, Year 7
National Day is on the 2nd of December every year and it celebrates the discovery of the United Arab Emirates. The UAE have made many things including, the tallest tower and the biggest mall but all of this could not have happened if it weren’t for one man.
Let’s go back in time to 1971 and discover more about the UAE’s heroic founder...
In the year 1971, the United Kingdom signed a treaty which gave Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan permission to create a country in the Gulf. Sheikh Zayed decided to bring seven states together (Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain, Dubai and Abu Dhabi) and create a country that is now known as the United Arab Emirates. This happened on the 2nd of December 1971. Since then, the UAE has become one of the biggest tourist attractions and the economy has skyrocketed as the UAE has one of the richest royal families in the world.
We celebrate National Day because Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and the other founding fathers worked hard to make a country on the Gulf. We celebrate the event on the 2nd of December each year as that day marks the independence of the UAE. Next year (2021) will be the UAE’s 50th birthday, which means that this year is the 49th anniversary of the UAE. That’s older than Kent College by 45 years!!!
Some of you had the opportunity to listen to Nasif Kayed, The Arab Culturist, who shared many insights to the culture, traditions and principles of the UAE. He spoke enthusiastically about the geographical and historical structure of the Emirates, the significance of the colours in the flag, the national anthem, the values of the Bedouin's and the traditional resources that were sought after at the very beginning.
Unfortunately, because of COVID-19, National Day will be celebrated a little differently at Kent College. We will still have lots of fun, but some games might have changed from last year. You might not be given delicious, mouth-watering food or ride a stinky camel, but you will still be allowed to dress in the colours of the UAE flag or in national, Emirati clothing.
Even better, we get Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday off because of national holidays. (Woohoo!!!)
I hope you enjoyed learning more about the founding father of the UAE and why it is celebrated on the 2nd of December.
