BY DELISA THWALA
MBABANE– Pupils and students in Eswatini have shared what flag day means to them and how they are going to be commemorating the day tomorrow.
Every April 25 is National Flag Day in Eswatini. This holiday looks back to the raising of Eswatini’s flag and the lowering of the British flag in 1968 when Eswatini gained its independence. The flag itself, however, was introduced by King Sobhuza II in 1941.
This holiday is observed in the nation with special flag-raising ceremonies that may include parades, music, and other special events. This is a public holiday in Eswatini as well, so government buildings, schools, and many businesses are closed on this day.
Meanwhile, the interviewed pupils said for them, Flag day meant it is a celebration of liberation and a bust of colors.
Siphesihle Thwala a Form 5 pupil at Mater Dolorosa said the day meant a free day of celebrating the colors of her country
“Because it stands for a nation’s land, people, and government, a national flag is an important symbol for most countries. To better understand a country and its culture, we can learn what the different features of its flag represent,” said Thwala.
Another pupil from St Theresa’s High School said for her the holiday to be observed tomorrow means the flag is seen as a unifying object to bring its people together.
“Our flag is a symbol holding the incredible power to unify, whether that is a competitive nudge in a sports game, a nation celebrating its history, rulers, and freedoms together, or a sign of solidarity for a nation facing times of violence,” she said.
According to the internet a flag day is a flag-related holiday, a day designated for flying a certain flag (such as a national flag), or a day set aside to celebrate a historical event such as a nation’s adoption of its flag.
Phumzile Dlamini a third-year student at the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) said, what is now Eswatini was long the home of native Africans, but it came under the domination of the Boer Republic and then of the British Empire in the 1800s.
The history student said she was happy to celebrate and know more about an official British protectorate.
“The flag of Eswatini is very colorful and very unique. It has two blue stripes, standing for peace, a red stripe, standing for the bloodshed in the nation’s wars, and two thin yellow stripes, representing this small nation’s rich natural resources,” she said.
Worth noting is that a shield appears in the middle of the flag, representing the protection of Eswatini’s people, while two spears stand for the power of Eswatini’s royal house.
The fact that the shield is part black and part white symbolizes the black and white populations of Eswatini living together in peace. Major Flag Day activities in Eswatini include official flag-raising ceremonies, parades, and patriotic speeches.
