(The flag of the UAE was raised for the first time on 2nd December, 1971, at Union House in Dubai.)
Amidst the series of deliverables we worked on, we had an interesting day in the office because we pre-celebrated the UAE’s 39th birthday. The work arena has been filled with decorations which gave me a slice of the Christmas feel because of the abundance of green and red colors (inspired by the flag; white and black being the remaining colors). Traditional arabic dishes were served, too. Our organization is highly comprised of several nationalities, hence, you can imagine a mini-United Nations Day celebration when few of the expatriates even wore their traditional dresses (in response to the email from the management). I am one of those who came with their normal corporate suits. But upon seeing those who responded, although the possibility is remote, something quirked me to bring with me a terno or the baro at saya I used in my folk dance class in college (if they would still impossibly fit, har har) from the Philippines. Few colleagues asked me about the Filipinos’ traditional dress. I found delight in explaining about it as I imagined the elegance of our terno and barong tagalog, which piqued their interests.
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