We'll be off to the beach in about an hour. It's not unusual for Sam, Cj and me to take a mid-week dip, but today is a special occasion ... we're going to help Gay celebrate "Liberation Day".

This is not a Seychelles holiday, so we'll have the beach to ourselves, but it's a big deal where Gay comes from: Jersey, Channel Islands.

For history buffs, here's a bit about it:

During the Second World War, the Channel Islands were declared a demilitarised zone, and were occupied by the German forces for five years, from 1940 to 1945.

In this period of time, know to the Islanders as simply "The Occupation", Reichmarks were issued (in place of Sterling), curfews were imposed, radios confiscated and forbidden, and all the civilian population issued with identity cards.

After the D-Day landings, the Channel Islands were left in German hands while the Allies pushed forward to Germany, and it was only the advent of the Red Cross ship Vega which brought much needed relief from starvation conditions.

The Channel Islands had been heavily fortified by the Germans, and with approximately one German to every five civilians, and the possibility of using the civilian population as hostages, it was probably deemed prudent to leave the Channel Islands alone until the German High Command was defeated.

... The Occupation only came to an end with the ceasefire and unconditional surrender of Germany, and because it was celebrated upon the actual German surrender in the Islands, it is celebrated at different dates in Jersey, Guernsey and Sark.

With Jersey being a small place ... about the same size and population as Seychelles ... their Liberation Day is not anywhere near a global event, but Gay is my friend, and we both live here now.

It's an impressive phenomenon amongst ex-pats that celebrations of anniversaries that sometimes conflict in history become important. (My British friends happily help me run up my personal flag on the 4th of July, even though hints of "We kicked your butts!" occasionally surface as I hand hot dogs off the grill.) And most folks will agree that yet another chance to party is a good thing.

Rejoicing each other's occasions of importance is a bonding experience, and in countries with different cultures side-by-side, respect for and participation in commemorative events can bring divergent groups together in ways that legislation could never accomplish.

I used to spend a lot of time in the East Malaysian state of Sarawak on the island of Borneo. Like all of Malaysia, a rich ethnic and religious mix is a huge part of the fabric of life, and the holidays serve to underline the importance of the fellowship of differences.

Christians, Animists, Buddhists, Hindus, Muslims, and others are represented, and all have their special days. Traditionally, open houses are the big social part of religious occasions. On Christmas, it's the Christians with doors wide open. Buddha's birthday and Chinese New Year have the Chinese community welcoming friends and neighbors. Hari Raya, the celebration at the end of Ramadan, sees tables in Muslim homes heaped with food and waiting for the many guests that will pass through, congratulate and eat their weight in delicacies. Gawai, the harvest festival for the Dayak people, the Iban and other native groups, has its start in longhouses about 10 am, then continues long into the night and the next day (or two). And Deepavali is a visitor's chance to sample the best in Indian curries in Hindu homes.

Our holiday observances have now expanded to include, in addition to all those American, British and Seychelles based, not only Gay's native Liberation Day, but now also the Cambodian New Year in honor of our kids' birth country and its traditions.

I'm put in mind of the stories from the World Wars when, on Christmas Eve, the trenches on opposite sides of the conflict would join for a while in songs of the season.

Could it be that we could party for peace?

Questions? Comments? Shy? E-mail me ... intladoptionblog@adoptionmail.com