The three countries of Christmas

Taking a year off for travelling is an endeavor filled with marvelous challenges but it also means not being near your loved ones during special moments of the year.

Christmas was always going to be one of the moments of the year where we were bound to feel the farthest from home and with our plans being rearranged due to visa issues, we found ourselves wondering what we could do to make it special for us.

We started Christmas in Muscat, Oman. There, in a proudly Arabic country, signs of the festivity were next to none other than a couple of Christmas trees at the mall. It was an unusual experience being in December and not seeing any decorations outside. No lights, no dramatic marketing campaigns, just normal life and plenty of sun. Truth be told, as we sat and had fast food on the 24th, we were as far from being in the spirit as we would have been on an average 20th July.

Oman does have a Christian community and the odd church but I can only imagine that here, for them, Christmas is an intimate affair which is not broadcasted outside inner circles.

On the afternoon of the 24th we took to the skies on our way to the second country of Christmas: the UAE.

We had high hopes that our evening of the 24th and the 25th would put us a bit more in the mood and as it turned out, Santa Claus caught up with us mid flight and A got a gift for (mostly) being a good girl throughout the year.

In Dubai we were not really disappointed. Though it wasn't omnipresent throughout the entire city, the commercial marks of Christmas were clearly visible. Dubai is definitely a city with a mind for business and with so many expats in the country, the business of Christmas made it possible for us to enjoy shinning lights, Christmas carols and a full blown market. Christmas was saved! Kind of, I mean it is certainly different to see a woman in hijab sing Christmas carols...

Our entry into the the jolliness of the season further continued throughout the 25th as we saw singing raindeers by the snow park and enjoyed the best chocolate chip cookies ever in the Dubai Mall! By the harbor we saw children playing in a snow storm (made of stereo foam), a floating Christmas tree and even a small ice skating rink. It seemed as if all of the ingredients were there but the reality is that it simply is not the same. Somehow, despite all the bells and whistles, there was no soul to our experience...

And so we carried on to Bulgaria where we arrived on the evening of the 25th.

In Sofia we found decorations everywhere. Decorations that in addition to grey skies, cold weather and the definite sensation of shorter days, made us feel much closer to the feelings that the season traditionally gifts us with. There seemed to be a special feeling in the air and people spontaneously gathered on the streets to dance traditional dances and listen to traditional songs. It was beyond anything we had seen before even in our own experiences back home and it brought broad smiles to our faces to see the sensation of unity and pride with which people seemed to gather.

In three days we experienced three very different realities of the Christmas season. From a private affair, to a commercial one to a more traditional take.

Seeing these realities made us think about what Christmas is supposed to be about and what it has become in the modern world. About how some things are so culturally important to us even when we are far from home. About how certain moments are bridges between our adulthood and our younger years and memories.

Christmas 2021 was definitely different but as Christmases go, we definitely managed to have ourselves a Merry Little Christmas.