John M. Portelli, Ta' Xbiex
National Day without division
The raison d'être of a National Day is to promote unity. Almost by definition it is the day on which consensus has been reached to bury differences and unite as one nation, one people.
We have five national holidays, one of only five countries with more than one National Day (the others, as far as I can make out, are Bosnia-Herzegovina, India, Pakistan and Poland; apart from the latter, the list speaks for itself).
Our national holidays, unfortunately, instead of promoting unity actually promote, or at least bring out, division - a division that a prominent former politician has described as "disgusting"; a strong term, unhappily reflecting reality. There is even, we have recently been told, a formal agreement to exclude people with opposing political views from attending official National Day functions.
It is time we found the political maturity to agree on one National Day. If our recent past has given occasion for division, perhaps we can look a little further back to our glorious historical past. We were happy enough with September 8, for decades on end.
I doubt anyone can argue effectively that this day is an occasion for fostering division and consequently a reason for it not to be our National Day.
By all means retain the other four as public holidays. I would go a little further, not only retain them but designate the Monday closest to the day on which they fall to celebrate them, rather like the Bank Holiday concept. That way one can maximise on one's free time without disrupting productivity.
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albert leone ganado
Oct 6th 2008, 01:26
Many of us view national days simply as a day of rest and do not care two hoots about their significance.
As long as the number of holidays are not reduced I am all for no longer calling them national.
But one must admit that they provide work for florists , allow our soldiers to parade and practise their military drills, give some of our monuments a once yearly clean up, make some dignitaries and their wives feel important sitting it out in front of some monument and fill with entries the president's engagement diary.
denis Catania
Oct 5th 2008, 22:45
@John M Portelli: The Maltese are so brainwashed on political affiliations, there aren't enough shrinks in the world to unify the Maltese on a national holiday. My mom(PN) my dad(MLP) couldn't be unified on their 50th anniversarry. One wanted a red cake the other wanted a blue cake. So we decided to get them a red and a blue cake. than we ran into another problem we couldn't find two bakers to work together, as my dad wanted a MLP baker and my mom wanted a PN baker. But I commend you for the try.
Liam Kelly
Oct 5th 2008, 21:35
@ Mr. Farrugia,
Take a look at other EU countries holiday allowances; they get less.
If you introduce more holidays at a time when efficiency is the name of the game for attracting industry then your just shooting yourself in the foot.
And yes, i do live in Malta, do you? :) Nice to see that us commentators are making friendly efforts to get to know one another as opposed to making xenophobic remarks which promote the believe that no-one else apart from Maltese can have an opinion on the matter in question.
Franco Farrugia
Oct 5th 2008, 17:53
@ Mr Kelly - By any chance, do you live in Malta? And are you still in the working-force? Just wished to ask, because I find it abnoxious that people are expected to work for the greater part of their lives and then, for some, they just don't enjoy their pensionable years. What is this, that man has to produce, produce and produce, work, work and work??? What's so wrong with holidays?
Anyway, Mr Portelli needs to be told that nothing, absolutely nothing, that can EVER bring unity in this country.
wally vella-zarb
Oct 5th 2008, 14:16
YES! Either that or the 'Sette Giugno'. All the others are politically divisive, one way or the other.
Liam Kelly
Oct 5th 2008, 12:18
....so your wanting another skive off work basically ?