Observing life: Flagging up an important part of the UAE National Day fun

It was great to see so many flags waving during last week’s National Day celebrations. What is particularly striking is the fact that so many people from different cultures and countries, and speaking so many languages, seem to gear up for this day every year as if it’s their birthday.

From Indian schoolchildren singing patriotic songs to Russian yachts decked out in the UAE flag, to a British artist painting a portrait of Sheikh Zayed using earth from Al Ain, the birthplace of the UAE’s founding father, everyone seemed to get into the spirit.

I don’t know if I’m alone, but I’m a little bit jealous. Speaking as an English person, I’m not really allowed to show my flag. Centuries of colonialism have left it as something of a bete noir in the flag world. And I mean specifically “English”, not “British”.

Our Scottish, Welsh and Irish cousins are more than proud to wave their flags on their respective national days. Ironically, the Union flag, which encompasses all of us Brits, is very much on point in the fashion world, adorning T-shirts, bags and shoes every season. (I never thought I would hear myself use the term season, and I expect to be pilloried eternally by our fashion team).

The English flag, however, has been for decades tarred with the association of football hooliganism and far-right groups, and for centuries before that with ships that came into port and told the locals they were British subjects now, please and thank you, we’ll have tea at 4pm.

Of course, England isn’t alone in the confusion about its national flag. New Zealand has recently been through a protracted debate about changing its flag (which prompted some incredible suggestions for a new one).

South Africa redesigned its flag following the release of Nelson Mandela, while Germany had to make some serious flag decisions after the collapse of the Berlin Wall.

The nice thing about National Day here, and indeed Flag Day, held a few days prior, is that people from different backgrounds can wave a flag.

We even had a go at creating the world’s biggest flag, although tragically Tunisia retains that honour.

I for one hope the UAE flag doesn’t change. My own country is one of the world’s oldest democracies, but its flag? Too complicated to even begin on.