The past weekend was full of fun activities in celebration of St. Martin/St. Maarten Day, November 11. Did you participate?
This year marked 370 years of unity and friendship between the Dutch and French halves of the island. We celebrate this unique friendship, because it’s not everywhere that two countries coexist peacefully, especially on such a small land mass.
In fact, it doesn’t even feel like the island is divided into two parts; does it? We can move freely between the French and Dutch sides, and most of us have family and friends on both sides of the island. You may cross the border all the time to visit family, go to the store, or do other activities, and not even think about it.
In most of the world, when you cross a border, you have to show your passport – and you may not always be allowed to pass. You may also need other travel documents, have to prove where you’ll be staying, and say when you will be leaving. We only think about showing a passport if we get onto an airplane or a boat, to travel to other islands and countries.
We also say “St. Martin” in the English pronunciation when people ask where we are from, since most people on the island speak English. So even when we say where we are from (verbally), it’s not clear if we mean French St. Martin or Dutch St. Maarten.
That doesn’t happen in other parts of the world, and it can be confusing for people who are not from here, for example, someone you meet if you go away on vacation. By the way, it’s also confusing to them why we speak English as a first language in the first place! But that’s another story.
Performances, food, art and games that are part of the island’s culture are always celebrated on this holiday, and people also take time to reflect on our past and talk about the future.
The two sides of the island take turns hosting St. Martin/St. Maarten Day every year; this year it was hosted on the French side.
As part of the official programme, there was a Family Fun Day in French Quarter on Saturday. On Sunday, also in French Quarter, there was a church service, different ceremonies and speeches, as well as a full day of cultural celebration. This included big parades, cultural performances, traditional games and local food.
Besides the official programme, there were many other activities on both sides of the island in celebration of the holiday, including celebrations at the various schools. Students at many schools held cultural performances, learned about local history, and some dressed in traditional clothing. What did you do in school to celebrate your island?
In this edition of The KIDS Herald, you’ll also read about two more important cultural days that were recently commemorated: Remembrance Day and Diwali.
This year, Remembrance Day, which marks the end of World War I, was marked on November 11 (just like St. Martin/St. Maarten Day), and Diwali, which is the Indian celebration of lights, was marked last week Wednesday, November 7. See inside for more!
