When is Flag and Universities Day in Haiti?
Flag and Universities Day (French: Jour du Drapeau et de l'Université) is a public holiday in Haiti on May 18th.
The date commemorates the creation of the Haitian flag in 1803.
History of Flag and Universities Day in Haiti
The Haitian flag was adopted on May 18th 1803, on the last day of the Congress of Arcahaie. The congress was a meeting that had two key outcomes; the establishment of a united command of the revolutionary army under the supreme authority of Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and the adoption of a flag by the indigenous army.
Jean-Jacques Dessalines created the flag by taking a French tricolour and ripping out the white centre. His god-daughter, Catherine Flon, sewed the remaining horizontal bands together - the tricolour became the bi-colour. The blue in the Haitian flag is said to represent the Haitian's of African descent and red for the Gens de couleur (French for 'people of colour').
In the struggle for independence from France, Haitians of African descent had been set against the 'Gens de couleur'. They had made peace earlier in 1803 and were now united against the French. It is interesting that the Haitian struggle for independence was inspired by the French Revolution and now their flag was also based on the French one.
Over the intervening years, the flag has been changed several times. The bands became vertical in 1804. A red and black variation has also bee in in use more than once. The current flag was adopted on February 17th 1986, after the departure of Jean-Claude Duvalier and was ratified a year later by the official adoption of the March 29th 1987 Constitution.
The creation of the original flag was a seminal moment in Haiti's nationhood and was soon being celebrated each year on May 18th.
In 1919, the government added Universities Day as part of the celebrations. Highlighting the educational system was seen as important by the government as they saw the educational system was under threat due to the U.S. occupation of Haiti that started in 1915.
