News Brief 4 - Fri Jan 05, 2007 - Celebrating Christmas Here

Fri Jan 05, 2007

Dear Everyone,

I have been asked how we Christians here celebrate Christmas - or if we are even allowed to do it! Well, I'm happy to report that there is freedom of religion for non-Muslims here. Muslims are required to follow Islam but non-Muslims may, circumspectly, practice their own religion as long as they make no effort to convert Muslims.

This past Christmas season, in mid-December, I attended a lovely dinner and musical concert sponsored by the Al Ain Choral Society and held at the Al Ain Intercontinental Hotel. My friend Bonnie is a member of the society and sang in the choir. She gave me a ticket to the event as a Christmas present! The dinner was a traditional turkey dinner with dressing, cranberry sauce, etc, and also included foods traditional to UK Christmas celebrations, such as mince tarts.

At work, I received permission, upon special request to my supervisor, to use comp time to take Christmas day off work even though it was a regular work day. I later found out that the library staff had been planning to give me a party that day but since I wasn't there, they didn't do it. Several of the all-Muslim staff gave me either Christmas cards or gifts or both. All of the staff wished me Merry Christmas. The cleaning lady, who is a Catholic, also gave me a lovely card and gift. I gave her a gift and some money (she makes so very little money that anything extra is really a bonus for her!)

I gave the staff little non-religious Christmas treats that I bought in Dubai. They consisted of tiny Christmas stockings that each had a candy cane and a little marzapan character in them. The characters were a snowman, a Santa, a reindeer, etc. I told the staff that I had *non-religious* Christmas treats for them, that they were welcome to take one or not, as they chose. Everyone took one and they were delighted with the "neat little packages" of traditional American things that they had heard or read about or seen in movies but had never had. I think they are fascinated with customs of other people and places, just as I am.

One of the Egyptian employees told me that in Egypt, Muslims celebrate some of the non-religious customs of Christmas such as lights, giving baked goods as gifts and (I think she said) decorated trees, etc., because they have Christian neighbors and enjoy sharing their special holiday with them.

On Christmas night, I was the guest at a family Christmas Dinner at the home of a colleague. He and his wife have four young children, ages 3-11. It was wonderful to spend part of Christmas Day with children. We had a turkey dinner and **mashed potatoes and gravy** and green bean casserole and other tasty foods. They had a lovely tall artificial Christmas tree that they purchased here and had decorated it completely with ornaments they purchased or made here. Their nativity set was also purchased here.

They gave me two great gifts, one was a box full of homemade cookies and the other was a "bread box" which is actually a clear dome over a wood and tile base! I'd been wishing for a bread box, so it was a perfect gift. They are Americans, from North Carolina, and the husband works for the library and arrived here one week after I did, so I've known them as long as I've been here.

At church services all month we sang Christmas carols. I am the organist and always enjoy playing Christmas carols and hearing them sung. They are one of the most wonderful parts of Christmas for me.

I bought 5 Christmas music CDs at one of the local department stores. They cost 10 Dh each (about $2.70). They were not by groups/artists famous or even known in the US but they included many familiar carols as well as ones new to me. I played them at home and that helped make it seem more like Christmas here in the Arabian Desert!

December 2 is National Day in the UAE, the aniversary date of the official formation of the country. To celebrate this event, practically the entire city is decorated with strings of colored lights, very artistically and attractively placed. The lights go up a few days before National Day and are lighted every night until just before Christmas, then are dark until the night of 26 Dec when they are lighted again until after New Year's Day. The reason they are not lighted on 25 Dec and the few days prior is so that there will be absolutely no way for anyone to claim that they are used to celebrate Christmas! The lights are mostly red, green and yellow (think gold) although a few other colors are occasionally used, so you can imagine what we Christians think of when we see them. :)

Well, that is how I celebrated outward expressions of Christmas this year. The holiday is always wonderful, however, because the true spirit of Christmas is what we carry in our hearts and that cannot be taken from us by anyone or anything except by our own choice. I am grateful for what Christmas commemorates and also for the "social aspects" of it. For me, the holiday has two separate and distinct parts: the religious and most important - remembering and honoring the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ; and the social -also important in a different way and something that binds us to the past and to those with whom we share those traditions.

I hope your Christmas was as special as mine was.

And, to all of you - Happy New Year! I wish you joy, peace, contentment and success in 2007.

Sincerely,
Pat