Home  News Local News Still something to celebrate
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Still something to celebrate |
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Monday, 19 May 2008 |
Given the last decades of history and current crises in Haiti, it has been a long time since many nationals at home and in the Diaspora have something to celebrate.
But on May 18, those who still hold the flag high and recall the trail that Haiti blazed as the first Black republic by gaining its independence from France on January 1, 1804, will definitely have something to celebrate this Flag Day.
The Haitian flag, like any other, is an emblem of pride for all with a connection to the struggling country, which has reserved a special day to celebrate the flag and what it stands for.
Usually, this national holiday is celebrated on the grounds of Haiti’s national palace with much pomp and pageantry, and Haitians in the Diaspora celebrate the day in their own way, paying homage to the nation's struggle for her freedom.
In the 1700s, the early days of Haiti’s revolt, the slaves did not have a flag, but saw the French flag as a symbol of that country. They eventually, after several variations and modifications and centuries of different leaders decided on the final one in 1987, which is described in the country’s constitution as:
The emblem of the Haitian Nation shall be a flag with the following description:
a) Two (2) equal-sized horizontal bands: a blue one on top and a red one underneath.
b) The coat of arms of the Republic shall be placed in the center on a white square.
c) The coat of arms of the Republic will be a Palm tree surmounted by the liberty cap and under the palms a trophy with the legend: In Union there is Strength.
It is in this union that Haitians find strength today when the odds are stacked up against their brothers and sisters who struggle both at home from the ravages of economic, social and political turmoil and aboard from the negative stigma some people attached to being a Haitian national.
This Flag Day, as Haitians celebrate, let us not forget the greatness from which they derived, the strength from which they attained their greatness, and the resilience of their people, who despite the odds are still driven to improve themselves and their homeland. |
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