Old habits die hard Understanding St. Martin Day Symbolisms

St. Martin Day has come and gone and amidst the pomp and pageantry, there are still some aspects of our celebrations that need to be carefully examined.For those inclined to believe in numerology, the number 66 may have raised a red flag. But we’ll be looking at the symbolism of colors and flags later in this review.

Let’s start with some negative affirmations:

a) It is not Sint Maarten Day - that would mean it is limited to the 16 square mile Dutch controlled territory.

b) It is not Saint Martin Day (French pronunciation). That would be just for the 21 square mile French-controlled northern half of the island.

c) It is not St. Maarten/St. Martin Day. There is no island named that. Besides, the slash is a symbol of division.

d) It is not St. Maarten’s Day, nor St. Martin’s Day and certainly not St. Maarten’s/St. Martin’s Day. Nobody says Aruba’s Day, Saba’s Day, Statia’s Day, Anguilla’s Day. The same grammatical principle applies to St. Martin Day.

e) We are not celebrating Armistice Day (or Veterans’ Day).

f) We are absolutely not celebrating the day Columbus so-called “discovered” the island. He never even set foot on our soil let alone “discover” what was already there.

What we celebrate on November 11th is St. Martin Day (English pronunciation), conceived for the WHOLE 37 square mile island as a day we celebrate the unity and oneness of all the people of the island, regardless of under which administration they fall. We can, therefore, say about St. Martin Day that “Tis we own t’ing.” Or, “Tis weez own.” It is not about being French; it is not about being Dutch. It is about St. Martin, about us being one and indivisible as a people.

Symbolism of the colors

The red, white and blue are colonial colors. They represent those who enslaved our ancestors; those who did not recognize them as human beings but rather as property. For ONE day in the year, at least, we are called to abandon the colonial symbols and embrace our unity, our oneness, our people-hood, our familyhood. I actually believe we should do this everyday.

From all I was able to observe this St. Martin Day, our political leaders on both halves of the island have not fully grasped the symbolism of the colors and the flags. This is evident from their posts on their various Facebook pages.

President of Parliament, the Honorable Sarah Wescott Williams, poses for a nice picture with a charming smile under the St. Martin (South) flag.

President of the Collectivite Louie Mussington wears a muffler with the Unity flag colors but poses proudly with his wife in front of a sign board saying “Bienvenue en Partie Francaise//Welcome to the French Side”

The leader of the opposition, National Alliance party, the Honorable MP Egbert Jurendy Doran posts a beautiful St. Martin Day message on his Facebook page but has “Happy St. Martin Day” written under the St. Martin (south) flag while his picture is placed under the Unity Flag.

The PFP - a coalition partner in the Great Bay government - posts “HAPPY SINT MAARTEN DAY” in red with “11 NOVEMBER” separating the message in blue. All of this at the white obelisk with the Dutch, French and St. Martin (south) flags flying high while a sign board proclaims: “Bienvenue en Partie Francaise//Welcome to the French Side”

Similarly, there were trucks in the cultural parade decorated with the St. Martin (south) flag and some participants in the various troupes dressed in red, white and blue.

All of these send mixed signals and create more confusion about what we are actually celebrating. If our political leaders do not demonstrate that they fully understand the significance of the symbolisms attached to the day, it is pertinent to ask, why did the two administrations adopt the Unity Flag as a unifying cultural symbol? Or have they forgotten September 16, 2020 so quickly? That was the day people from both halves of the island, in a resounding show of unity, marched under the banner of the Unity Flag to protest the closure of the borders because of COVID-19.

As a matter of fact, no ceremonies should be held at any of the border monuments because borders divide and St. Martin Day is about Unity not division. If our officials must lay wreaths, let them do so at the appropriate location for it: the place on the Cyrus Wathey Square in front of the Courthouse where the names of the St. Martiners killed in World War II are listed. There was a time in the past when the wreath-laying used to happen there.

Furthermore, St. Martin Day is a civilian affair not a military ceremony, hence we should not condone any official donning their military uniforms or regalia at these events. You don’t wear funeral clothes to a wedding!

To summarize, anything that represents only one half of the island - like flags. colors, etc. - goes against the spirit of St. Martin Day. The day is about the WHOLE island, not just one part of it. It is about UNITY. not division. Alternating the official celebrations between both sides is not an excuse to use symbols that represent only one side, but an acknowledgment of the fact that the two halves make a unique whole.

Sixty-six years after the first St. Martin Day celebration, we should honor the vision of its founding fathers by remembering what the day stands for: unity, not division; togetherness not divisiveness.

‍