The State Of Independence

I recently celebrated the Fourth Of July, or the USA's Independence Day, here in the Netherlands and was struck by the incongruity of the whole event. There we were, a group of American Ex-Pats (plus one rather oddly bi-partisan British couple!) celebrating the US's most important holiday in a garden in the Netherlands on the 6th of July! We had burgers, cupcakes, red, white & blue bunting and patriotic clothing a-plenty and the sense of being 'home' surrounded us. It made me ponder on the importance of our national traditions and how we all manage, somehow, to gouge out a place wherever we are living, that resembles our homeland.

While I lived in the USA Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her Golden Jubilee and the yearning to be in the UK and part of those patriotic celebrations was overwhelming. The few Brits in the Ex-Pat group I then belonged to banded together, in the hope that we could forge a little piece of the fervor for ourselves, thousands of miles away. We had planned races on the beach, a ceremony of Jubilee mug presentation to the children and a truly British picnic complete with bunting & Union Jack paper napkins. I was heartbroken when the day was cold & grey, the only one that summer in Massachusetts, and we ended up eating our picnic in and around the cars, and no races or presentations as the beach was closed by the lifeguards, because of thunderstorms rolling around. Then some wise person said, "We wanted a British day....and we have got one!!"

Since moving to the Netherlands I have celebrated a Royal Wedding, the Olympics and a Thanksgiving Dinner and hopefully soon a royal baby. My neighbors are very confused by the constant changing of flags at our house..."Are they British or American?" they murmur. So, what holidays do other nationalities take with them around the world? The Scots celebrate Burns Night where ever they are, and I guess the Dutch coat everything around them in orange once a year. Do the French celebrate Bastille Day in their ex-pat communities, or the Indians their Independence Day? We know that Oktoberfest makes it in many countries & we all become German on those days! I know of friends that have celebrated the Dutch Queens Day in Italy and others who have held a Royal Baby Shower in the USA. We are adept at shaping our environment to suit ourselves, down to scouting out those vital party goods such as Oreo cookies, Pimms and haggis.

Maybe the world's ex-pats should create an International Day for all of us to join in and celebrate. It could involve an outfit of red, white, blue and orange, cupcakes decorated with kangaroos and maple leaves, lassi and whiskey to drink, wurst with congee, games of cricket and baseball (Crickball?), and the singing of the international anthem "We Are the World"! I would definitely sign up for that party!