Case for reinstating the Whitsun holiday

THE EDITOR: This is an appeal to all members of the House of Representatives, the Senate, the Inter-Religious Organisation or anyone who is in position to influence elementary amendments of our written laws.

Some years ago, Parliament was requested to grant East Indians a public holiday to mark their ancestors’ arrival in TT. However, another substantial percentage of our population had the national observance of an extremely crucial aspect of their faith simultaneously deleted.

A private motion was placed on the Order Paper of the House of Representatives during the 1986-1991 sittings but failed at the end of that parliamentary session as it was not debated in its entirety.

It was again presented at the 1991-1995 sittings and after a short debate it was referred to a joint select committee (JSC) of Parliament whose terms of reference were to consider the entire question of public holidays.

At the committee’s recommendation, the schedule to the Public Holidays and Festivals Act Chap 19.03 was amended to grant East Indians a one-off public holiday called Arrival Day. After a change in administration, however, the original request (an annual public holiday with its appropriate name) came into effect in 1996.

Devoted followers of the Christian faith (which is comprised of various ethnicities it should be emphasised) were nonetheless puzzled as the Day of Pentecost or Whitsun, which was a public holiday prior to the JSC’s recommendation, remained inexplicably deleted even as the new public holiday was fully instituted by the new administration.

Let it be made absolutely clear that given Western Europe’s autocratic administration of world affairs over hundreds of years, TT’s East Indian population is indeed fortunate to have the recorded date of their arrival to this country verified and preserved.

Besides, given their arrival here 178 years ago (117 years before our independence from the British), in addition to they being the second largest percentage of the country’s diverse ethnic population and their incalculable input in the sphere of commerce, food production, education, medicine, arts and culture, etc, was a debate necessary to acclaim this occasion?

In Christianity, Whitsun is considered as one of the most revered occasions – others being Christmas, Good Friday and Resurrection Day. In a true follower’s conviction, Christianity without Whitsun would be like life without oxygen – nonexistent.

Resurrection Day is observed exclusively on Easter Sunday. With Good Friday already a public holiday, are we, wavering Christians, still endorsing/demanding TT’s longest holiday weekend even while being conscious it’s become saturated with planned drunkenness, immorality and carousing pleasures?

While joint select committees comprise members of Parliament from both sides and the Senate, doesn’t the administration in charge normally has its way? This instance appeared no different.

One administration chose to delete Whitsun. After a new administration was voted in, it apparently neither attempted nor was interested in the Whitsun reinstatement.

Do we Trini Christians generally prefer a profane holiday rather than a divine one, hence our widespread tolerance and silence on the dumping of Whitsun? Are we ignorant of its significance?

The contention here is not so much about the long weekends, but about the eradication of Whitsun, thus concealing its true purpose.

We need to remind not just ourselves, but all our oblivious secular administrators of what Jesus said about the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12: 31-32).

LLOYD RAGOO

Chaguanas