Every 3rd of November, the UAE celebrates their Flag Day — a day dedicated to restoring the flag’s values, celebrating the country’s unity and greatness, and representing aspirations for a better future for the people of the UAE. All over the seven Emirates, decorations will be put up and people will gather for celebrations, activities, and events.
This year, however, the UAE will be celebrating it on the 2nd. While it isn’t a public holiday, it is still a special occasion to Emiratis and expats alike, and all government departments have been asked to raise the flag on 11am.
Here are ten facts you should know about the UAE Flag Day:
- The UAE flag has four colours, with a variety of interpretations compiled below.
Red stands for bravery, hardiness, strength, and courage. It is a salute to the sacrifices of the generations before us who laid the foundations for the union, as well as the nation’s martyrs who dedicated their lives to the UAE.
Some also believe that it was placed as a way of remembering the previous flags of the Kharijite Muslims. Its vertical placement leads many to believe that this colour is what binds all the other colours and meanings together.
Green symbolizes hope, joy, optimism, and love. It is an indication of the country’s prosperity and cultural renaissance.
White represents honesty, and cleanliness. It is a symbol of the UAE’s charitable contributions as well as its support for security and peace in the world.
Lastly, black stands for the downfall of their enemies, the strength of Emiratis, and their rejection of injustice and extremism.
2. The flag’s design was decided by a competition entry. In 1971, a young Emirati named Abdullah Mohammed Al Maainah saw the advertisement for the competition and decided to submit one himself. His design made it past 1030 other submitted designs and 5 other shortlisted ones, and he only discovered his entry had won on the day of the union itself - when he saw the flag fluttering inside the grounds of the Mushrif Palace.
His reasons for picking the flag’s colours are derived from his perspective as a local. Red represents the color of the Ottoman flag, which is symbolic of sacrifice and blood; green represent the Fatimids Caliphate; white refers to color of the flag that was raised after the Prophet Mohammed’s first victory on the battlefield; and black represents the early years of Islam, as well as the oil that helped transform his country.
Mr Al Maainah said the colours he chose for the flag was inspired by a line from a Safieddine Al Hila poem: “White our deeds, green our surroundings … black our battles, red our swords.”
This teenager grew up to become His Excellency Abdullah Mohammed Al Maainah, State Minister to the UAE Foreign Ministry.
3. The first person to raise the flag was UAE Founding Father Sheikh Zayed, on the day of the emirates’ union December 2, 1971. Here’s a #ThrowbackThursday picture of this milestone:
4. There are strict guidelines surrounding the UAE Flag, especially during celebrations. It should be made of nylon and weigh at least 122.5 g per square metre.
5. A Dubai resident is on her way to finishing the world’s largest paper-quilled UAE Flag. The final piece is expected to be 32 square metres, made up of 5mm-thick 100,000 coloured strips of paper. which was brought and customised from India, bound together with 4kg of glue and weighing more than 50kg.
The project is singlehandedly worked on by 26-year-old Surya Bala, who wanted to show her gratitude and admiration for the country.
6. The Flag Day marks the anniversary of Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan becoming the president in 2004. The day is spent celebrating and commemorating the country as it is today under the current President, as well as remembering the outstanding efforts in nation-building undertaken nearly forty-six years ago by the late Sheikh Zayed, the UAE’s Founding Father.
7. On this day, Emiratis across the UAE will sing the country’s national anthem. The lyrics can be found below:
Live my country, the unity of our Emirates lives
You have lived for a nation
Whose religion is Islam and guide is the Quran
I made you stronger in God’s name oh homeland
My country, My country, My country, My country
God has protected you from the evils of the time
We have sworn to build and work
Work sincerely, work sincerely
As long as we live, we’ll be sincere sincere
The safety has lasted and the flag has lived oh our Emirates
The symbol of Arabism
We all sacrifice for you, we supply you with our blood
We sacrifice for you with our souls oh homeland
The anthem was composed by Mohammed Abdel Wahab, who also composed the national anthems of other Arab states. The lyrics to the anthem were written by Arif Al Sheikh Abdullah Al Hassan and were officially adopted in 1996.
8. The UAE will celebrate its 46th birthday this year, exactly a month after Flag Day. December 2nd marks the unification of the seven Emirates — Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ra’s al-Khaimah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain and Fujairah - into a federation.
Here are some highlight pictures from last year’s National Day.
9. The Flag Island in Sharjah will celebrate the Flag Day on both Thursday and Friday.
On the first day of the celebrations, the largest single gathering of people in the UAE for the raising of the country’s flag will occur, with special martial music shows and marine sports events soon after. The music shows will contain performance inspired by Emirati heritage and drumming performances in the Emirati-Japanese ‘Kharsha’ style.
The day after, the facility will offer roller-skating and skateboarding for visitors, and the International Festival Contest ‘Kalinka’ with traditional Russian dance performances will take place. The Flag Island will also host a painting workshop and provide ‘Kashtah’ food carts for refreshment as the celebrations occur.
Updates for their celebrations can be found here:
10. The seven Emirates will be full of IG-worthy events and activities, so take some time to look around! Dubai’s Kite Beach, with the help of thousands of flags thrust into the sand, has transformed into a Flag Garden for Flag Day. Don’t worry if you can’t drop by today — the flags usually remain hoisted until December.
In addition to the flags you’ll see on the buildings,the flag will also pop up in some unexpected places, such as construction sites:
Gardens:
…and this creative umbrella arrangement in Media City.
The UAE Flag Day is a commemoration of how far the country has gone since its creation, and how it continues to adhere to the symbols represented by its flag. There are so many beautiful buildings and sights to see, and we are definitely looking forward to all the creative ways establishments and people alike will join in on the celebration.
Happy Flag Day!
with Marianne Besas — Team 10 Leaves
