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No one I know disagrees with the idea of setting a day aside to celebrate the people who have helped make Bermuda great. Dozens of countries around the world do it, including many of our Caribbean neighbours to the south.

But most of the people who have spoken to me about our new National Heroes Day continue to have a problem with the fact that we celebrate it in October.

The schedule does not appear to work for a variety of reason, but the primary concern is that it ended the long-standing holiday on the second Monday in June. That's when we celebrated the Queen's Birthday with a Front Street Parade and gathered in huge numbers for sailing races in St. George's Harbour or Mangrove Bay.

The people who have approached me say the October date simply doesn't do it for them. They want Heroes Day to be on that same Monday in June, so that we can maintain our centuries old maritime traditions.

When I hear them say this, I am reminded that the October date last year certainly did not work for the government either.

Monday, October 14th was the day set for the first-ever Heroes Day celebration. It was to be a public holiday, devoted to the life of Dame Lois Browne-Evans.

But then the day of celebration was shifted to Sunday the 13th , apparently because the public holiday coincided with the first day of the PGA Grand Slam when many VIPs - including the Premier - participated in the pro-am round of golf.

What we were left with was a public holiday on the Monday with no public celebration to mark the occasion. It was simply a day off.

The fact that the Monday public holiday did not work for the government should not be lost on anyone who questions the scheduling of National Heroes Day in October.

I am concerned that something was amiss in the process that led to the selection of the October date. How can so many people be dissatisfied with the result when so many - so we were told - were consulted? There may have been consultation, but I suspect debate was not sought nor encouraged.

I am not impartial on this issue. I am a sailor, specifically a sailor of Comets and IODs. I enjoy boating of any kind. Anyone will tell you that sailors and boaters - of which there are thousands on this island - enjoy a special kinship with their particular craft, and (especially for sailors) with each other.

I think we should celebrate our sailing heritage and do all we can to support it. Here's why:

1. Us Bermudians owe our existence to the sea. It is part of who we are as a people.

2. There is no better way to spend time with your family than on the water.

3. Sailing should be our national sport. We are surrounded by deep blue sea and it is one activity that crosses ALL boundaries.

On this island, if you don't get on the water, you at some point wish you could. We get our boats, or whatever floats that we call a boat, ready by May 24th or no later than the Queen's Birthday. It's a rite of passage, a Bermudian tradition to get that craft ready by these dates.

The Queen's Birthday holiday was used across three centuries to hold large sailing events. The Bermuda Fitted Dinghy Association and The Comet Class each hold their annual events on the day, attracting hundreds of spectator craft and thousands of spectators - young and old, black and white, rich and not so rich.

It is a truly Bermudian family day, nothing contrived, just all us Onions having fun in, on and around the water.

So how did we go from simply getting a National Heroes Day on a suitable day in the year, to getting a National Heroes Day on an unsuitable day in the year and, in the process, losing the Queen's Birthday holiday Monday - a holiday that meant so much to so many?

We can choose our heroes and always get those choices right because there are so many great Bermudians past and present. But choosing the right day clearly takes careful consideration.

I don't think there was enough of it in the decision that took the holiday into October while eliminating a holiday that was an anchor in our annual calendar of events.

I think we should re-visit the decision.

Let's celebrate our heroes in a uniquely traditional way - a way that brings us all out sharing the beauty that surrounds our island home.

Most will find this a 'no brainer' Just do it!

Charles Swan is a UBP MP for Southampton West Central.[[In-content Ad]]

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