So the holidays in the western world are over and here in Saudi Arabia it is as though they never happened. When the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia became a country in 1932 King Abdul Aziz formed the country by banding together a bunch of nomadic desert wandering warring tribes using their common religion as the glue that holds them together. (The billions in dollars they receive each year in oil profits certainly sweetens the deal though)
This is the fort that is considered the birthplace of Saudi Arabia.
This means that KSA is under Islamic law, also called Sharia Law, which means that we celebrate Muslim holidays and follow the Hijri calendar. This also means that Christmas and New Years and every other holiday that involves religion or celebrations or alchohol or music or dancing or fun or general merriment is strictly forbidden. There was absolutely no sign that Christmas was happening. No Christmas trees, no lights, no Santa, no music playing in the malls, no Christmas sales, no days off of work, no candy canes and worst of all no egg nog. We weren’t even allowed to say Merry Christmas to each other at work. It was crazy, but at least I was able to see what Whoville would have looked like if it wasn’t for Cindy Loo Who.
As strange as it was to be in a place with no Christmas during Christmastime, it was also fascinating to take a look at Christmas without the culture and the commercialism. When you strip it down to the bare basics what you have is a chance to examine why and how you personally celebrate Christ.
There were also some other benefits to having Christmas in KSA.
1) Friends become Family-It is one of the things I love most about living abroad. The expat community is very tight knit and in the absence of blood relatives, you create a family of friends. I spent the evening of the 24th with a group of fascinating, wonderful people from the US and Taiwan and some absolutely adorable kids at their house on their compound. Look they didn't need to piece together costumes from bathrobes and sheets, they just took out the typical local garb and voila, nativity scene in a place not all that far from the original.
We sang carols and had a lovely evening that included homemade pies and a huge Nerf gun fight in which I was attacked by a troop of 5 little boys. Perfect night!
Then on December 25th I got together with a group of awesome people...
These are two ladies who are here teaching English at women's universities...and they both went to BYU.
We went out to eat at a traditional Saudi restaurant, where you just lounge on pillows on the floor and eat delicious food off of mats. This is the front, the ladies entrance is around the back and up the stairs.
...and here is a cool car that was in front of the restaurant and me with one of the most fabulous ladies ever. She has 5 adorable children and treats everyone like family.
2) You get to focus on the real reason for the season- In the rest of the world, Christmas is everywhere you look. Even if you didn't really want to celebrate it, it would be unavoidable. Here you have to make a conscious effort to acknowledge it and to celebrate it in your own way. It makes for a lot more introspection.
3) You don't have to worry about buying gifts- This year I didn’t buy any gifts for anyone. It was positively liberating. My love language (of the famous love language book series) is not gift giving. I neither feel nor communicate love through gifts, so it was no great loss to my feeling loved but it was a huge relief to not have to guess what people may or may not hate. There was no stress, there were no deadlines, no long lines.
I did however receive a few gifts from people. This lovely duck was from one of my teachers. I named her Petula after the teacher who gave her to me and I find her delightful!
4) You can go shopping on the 24th, 25th and 26th and there are NO crowds.
5)You never have to listen to "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"
I did, however, run into this guy at one point...shhh don't tell anyone. It appears that he and his reindeer snuck in.
That all being said, I did miss seeing family and friends and look forward to many Christmases that are celebrated in the traditional Western way. With Christmas music, Christmas trees, giving gifts, and lots of egg nog.
