Standing hand-in-hand, about 13 men dressed in white kicked their legs in unison to traditional Saudi Arabian music in the Reitz Union Auditorium on Tuesday.
The Association of Saudi Arabian Students danced in celebration of the Saudi National Day.
The event included a henna artist corner, free Saudi Arabian food samples, traditional clothing displays and Saudi dancing.
The event, which was from noon to 6 p.m., hosted more than 500 students throughout the day, said Ahmed Alobaida, 29.
“It makes me proud of my country,” Alobaida, an English Language Institute student said. “We were tribes, and now, we are a country. We used to fight. Now we are united and speaking the same language.”
The Saudi Arabian National Day began in 1932 as a celebration of the joining of all the regions into one unified country.
Hawazin Alobaid, a 23-year-old UF English Language Institute student, said she appreciated the celebration at UF but that it reminded her of the huge celebrations in Saudi Arabia.
“All the streets are covered in green and white,” she said.
The event also featured speakers from the Association of Saudi Arabian Students who spoke about their Saudi Arabian culture.
Ahmed Albassam, president of the association, said the day is a chance for Saudi Arabians to remember their history and look toward their future.
The event is a good way to teach UF students about Saudi Arabia who might not know about Saudi Arabian culture, said Albassam, a 32-year-old UF pharmacy graduate student.
“Maybe some people have bad stereotypes about us,” Alobaida said, “but we share with them our national day in hopes of improving our image of our country.”
[A version of this story ran on page 8 on 9/24/2014 under the headline "Students, speakers celebrate Saudi National Day at the Reitz"]
Mohammed Alqarni, 26, shows UF chemical engineering freshman Alex Logsdon, 18, how to hold a tea set during the Saudi Arabian National Day event in the Reitz Union on Tuesday afternoon.
