Young Saudis gear up for National Day celebrations

Whether driving on road or shopping in malls the spirit of green is visible in every corner. From young to adults everyone is eagerly awaiting the National Day. Children are getting ready to celebrate in school, whereas the youth are ready to prove their patriotism on the streets.

Saudi Gazette talked to several young men about their plans to celebrate the National Day.

“On this occasion we’ll go out with friends to celebrate. We dance with the crowd to patriotic songs. We will paint our faces green and decorate our cars with flag stickers,” Rakkan Mabrouk, 21, said enthusiastically.

Mansour Sakran will be roaming the streets. “Saudi Arabia is a beautiful country and my favorite city is Jeddah and Al-Hada. I will be on the streets with friends," said Sakran, adding that his family is helping his young sister for the National Day school project.

“My friends have organized a party for females and the dress code is green,” Reem Al-Marwani, 23, said. “Later we’ll go out as it is a public holiday. My brothers will go out with their friends with white and green on their face and we are going to put a flag on our car.”

Ola Ali, 19, is planning to visit Makkah. “My family always plans a visit to the Haram. We are grateful to Allah for this peaceful country.”

“This day holds an important place in Saudi Arabia's history, as it embodies all the customs and traditions of the country and signifies the true spirit of the Kingdom. Yet, every family celebrates it in their own way,” Mufarreh Al-Ghamdi, a young mother, remarked.

“In the morning, the children and I would head to Balad area to buy costumes, paints and flags to wave around. Afterward, we’ll grab a snack at one of the kibda stands to mark the end of our shopping excursion.

"At home, the family gathers for an outdoor lunch. We decorate our entire garden with flags and banners. Usually, the family gets together at night either on the rooftop of our house or has a picnic at the Corniche,” Al-Ghamdi said.

The best thing she loves about this occasion is the streets which are usually filled with decorated cars, people dressed in green and white and painted faces.

Talal Saeed is going to use the long weekend on road along with his friends to Makkah, Madinah, Riyadh and a final stop at Taif.

Abdul Khaliq Jabir Shirmani, 24, said, “All of us friends will take our cars to the seaside and enjoy the green passion.”

Nuha Shemrany, 20, said, “We just enjoy the holiday by relaxing and at night we might go out to see how the crowd is celebrating at streets."

Abeer, 18, has planned a gathering at her home with traditional food on the menu.

Yet there are others like Yara Ahmed who just sleep all day long.

Ahmed said, “I would sleep to re-energize for the hectic weekdays at university later, but I’ll definitely be going out at night.”

There are many who are going to remember the poor on this occasion by donating to them and helping the under privileged. Several citizens are also going to spend their day with their foreign friends in order to get closer and share their culture and traditions. A true spirit of green.