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| One of the largest flags I've ever seen, hanging outside my favorite grocery store! |
December 18th is a very big (HUGE!) day for Qataris and a big celebration for everyone living here as well. As the official Qatar National Day
website (in English) explains,
"Every December 18th, we celebrate our National Day in commemoration of the historic day in 1878 when Shaikh Jasim, the founder of the State of Qatar, succeeded his father, Shaikh Muhammad Bin Thani, as the ruler and led the country toward unity. This national occasion emphasizes our identity and history, embodies the ideals and visionary aspirations that this country was founded on, and pays homage to the great men and women who participated in building our nation. December 18th is the day we remember how our national unity was achieved and how we became a distinct, and respected nation out of a society torn apart by conflicting tribal loyalties, devoid of security and order, and overrun by invaders.
National Day is a glorious occasion on which we convey our deepest expressions of affection and gratitude to the people of Qatar who cooperated in solidarity and vowed sincere allegiance and obedience to Shaikh Jasim Bin Muhammad Bin Thani, trusting him as a father, brother, leader, and Imam. In him they found a man who had already distinguished himself in his youth as a pious, brave, self-sacrificing, and wise leader. He was keen on unifying the Qatari Peninsula and safeguarding the interests of its people in the darkest of times ever witnessed by this part of the world."
But really, Qatar National Day is like the 4th of July...in the capital...at the White House...on steroids...for two weeks. Celebrations have been going on for days and will continue long after today, though the height of activities happens today. Festivities include nightly fireworks in two locations for two weeks, an enormous parade featuring Qatari school children and all branches of the military, fly-over demonstrations, parachutes with flags, and sea escapades by military personnel, an entire state fairground-esque area dedicated to exploring elements of traditional Qatari culture such as falconry, maritime pursuits, animal husbandry, and food, a boat show, an antique car parade, an official horse race, rifle demonstrations, and tons of kids' activities. In short, it's a national party!
We attended the fairgrounds in the days leading up to QND and were amazed by all we saw: herds of oryxes, loads of free swag, impressive displays on traditional tribal life, amazing food offerings, and, of course, fireworks! Yes, the crowds were insane and it took us forever to leave, but it was a fun afternoon nonetheless, and you really can't help but want to be part of the party!
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| J playing doctor at one of the stations... |
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| and with toys at another... |
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where E was being helped to make something
with gears (parents were not allowed in). |
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| Watching the oryxes. |
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| The camels started out nice and far away... |
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until suddenly they were chasing us off the sidewalk.
Quick, run away, MERS! |
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The boys with their swag, which included, among other things,
backpacks, hats, scarves, flag, sunglasses, earrings, cuff links,
temporary tatoos, colored pencils, a light wand...the list
goes on and on! Qatar LOVES swag! |
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A national day sculpture in the middle of a mall, celebrating
dhows, pearl diving, date palms... |
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| ...oryxes, and falcons. |
The kids were told to come to school in traditional dress or Qatari colors yesterday, and even though they attend a school whose colors are already burgundy and white, meaning their regular uniforms would have been totally appropriate, we decided to find them some other garb to wear as well. Apparently, we were behind the eight ball on this a bit, since many people contract out well in advance to have their children's costumes custom-made at the souqs, but we still managed to find something festive. I even wore a shirt in Qatari flag colors, burgandy and white, and was told by a Qatari mom at school "I appreciate your t-shirt. Thank you for wearing it." Umm, okay! Never let it be said we don't embrace local traditions!
Then there were celebrations at the boys' school and at work for the husband (more swag: he got a pearl necklace). The Arabic department at school put on a presentation with traditional dance, poetry recitation, a mock wedding ceremony, the call to prayer, and a documentary about Qatari history...all of which was in Arabic. Which is funny, because A, the school is a quote-unquote American school and B, the media hastens to tell us over and over that Qatar National Day is for everyone, Qataris and expat residents alike, but then all the celebrations are exclusively in Arabic. At the national fairgrounds, we got a passport of activities for the boys to follow--totally in Arabic, as were the stations themselves, but we soldiered on and got through on our wits and charm, if not our language skills!
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| All decked out for school. |
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| A very excited J (with friend S.)! |
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| His favorite friends, E and L. |
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| E outside playing with play dough, his favorite activity. |
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| Gingerly petting a falcon. |
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| E's former classmate, Qatari L who was really decked out! |
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| Holding the rattled falcon (he actually got a claw to the arm after this). |
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With his teacher Ms. K who was wearing traditional dress
for the occasion (she's from Canada, fyi). |
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| A trip to the grocery store after school... |
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| to see the purple and blue reindeer. |
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An impromptu post-celebration picnic at the playground
(it was very sunny, apparently). |
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