As Covid-19 still keeps our community from celebrating in person, SOCIETY decided to provide a platform for Embassies to present their National Day’s traditions and costums. Below, the Ambassador of Kuwait, H.E. Sadiq MARAFI, shares his personal statement and gives us an insight into the Kuwaiti traditions celebrating the National Day:
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„The State of Kuwait celebrates its National Day every year on the 25th of February and also the Day of Liberation from the 1990 Gulf War on the 26th of February.
2021 is a special year! As with His Highness Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah’s accession to the throne, Kuwait will also celebrate the 60th anniversary of the National Day and the 30th of the Liberation Day.
Kuwait National Day is always celebrated with vigor and enthusiasm by all Kuwaiti people who gather at famous places like parks, beaches and restaurants with their fellows. Everyone goes out on the streets to engage in an array of events that provide exciting entertainment, sharing the love for Kuwait.
From live concerts to fireworks, and traditional culinary experiences, the streets are alive until the early hours of the next morning. The streets in Kuwait on that day are usually filled with the colors of the national flag, where each color symbolizes a part of Kuwait’s national history: Green represents fertility, white depicts peace, red symbolizes struggles of the forefathers, and black stands for the defeat of the country’s enemies. The Kuwaiti flag reminds the people of unity and pride as one nation.
The embassies, consulates and permanent missions of the State of Kuwait all over the world celebrate this special day and host receptions for a large number of senior officials, academics, business leaders and public figures as well as diplomats, wearing their national costume to show their patriotic spirit and tradition, accompanied by patriotic songs.
This year, in solidarity with the world and as a sign of respect for the measures adopted in light of the Corona virus pandemic by the host country, the Federal Republic of Austria, the Embassy of the State of Kuwait in Vienna will not organize any celebrations or gatherings to mark the 60th National Day and the 30th Liberation Day.
On this occasion we would like to highlight the great relationships between the state of Kuwait and the Federal Republic of Austria, which has always supported the State of Kuwait, especially recently when it helped implementing the plan of the Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior to return Kuwaiti expatriates stuck abroad due to the pandemic.
Amid this pandemic, a happy National Day is wished to the Kuwaiti people who are proud of their country that – at the beginning of the seventeenth century – was a small fishing port with a very low scale population, and became later a regional/global financial and commercial hub for the purpose of investment.
In this context, we are honored to share with you videos and pictures of our National Day celebrations in Vienna in the year 2020, as stated above, national traditions, costumes, songs and music were shown and played inside the elegant, historic and magnificent Hofburg Palace, and Kuwaiti traditions were celebrated side by side with our Austrian and international friends and partners.“
Video from last years National Day celebration at the Hofburg Palace (c) Embassy of Kuwait
Photos: Embassy of Kuwait