Christmas in the Kingdom

The Holiday season as the Western world knows and loves it, is kind of a bummer of a time to move to Saudi Arabia. Here in the Kingdom, it does not exist. In any shape or form. If you didn’t know any better, you wouldn’t even know such a phenomenon was even happening. As a result, Christmas this year has felt, much to my dismay, incredibly anti-climatic. I do think that in large part it has been because we have been very much in transition this month. We were just barely able to decorate our tree and house with the decorations I snuck into our shipment about a week ago. And the lights I had snuck in, I blew up shortly after plugging them in. Awesome. No Christmas books until the shipment arrived either. And until yesterday, I didn’t have an oven that worked, no inxnay on the Christmas cookies or baking. I love Christmas. I love the feeling the season brings. I love creating a little magic for my children, but as a result of it’s seemingly absent appearance, I have been feeling a little depressed and bah-humbug about the whole shi-bang.

And then, I went to church. The remedy it seems for most all of life’s ails. A woman got up to speak, and started addressing this very thing and the very feelings I had been experiencing. And then she took a spin and offered some welcome perspective. Here we are in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Middle East and the origin of the three great world religions. Christianity, Islam and Judaism. Jesus Christ plays a pretty good part in each one. This land and this area in which we are living gave root to the very stories we read about in Luke 2 and all scripture. Babel lies to our north in Iraq. Bethlehem to our West. Oman and the land of the Nephites to our south. What a remarkable place to be during the Christmas season and what an opportunity it provides to remove the commercialism and hustle and bustle and focus on what the season is really about. The laws of this land prevent me from putting a wreath on my front door, stringing lights on my house and caroling to my neighbors. But they do not prevent me (bare with my cliché’) from carrying the spirit of Christmas in my heart and sharing it through my kindness, patience and love for others. They also do not prevent me from creating the Merriest of Christmas’s in my home. For as our landlord Abdul Mosun tells me everyday, “In your house. America. No problems. Drink? Ok. No abaya? No problem. Tree lights? Ok. Outside? Saudi.” Well Saudi Grinch’s, it is a Christmas I am unfamiliar with, but it is Christmas just the same!

And thanks to a few compounds, where again, on the inside it’s America, or in this case Britain. Christmas reigns supreme!

(I tried to talk her into the poinsettia. No such luck.)

As do camels. They played a big role in the Christmas story you know. The three kings? They should be a part of every Nativity if you ask me.

My Little School’s winter carnival. I get that they had to omit Christmas and call it winter…but even a sign of winter was lacking. A huge stuffed bunny was there for heavens sake and I wore a sombrero while peddaling a bike, to make a blender blend our smoothie. Oh Saudi. Bless her.

We did eventually find the man in red, sorry sight as he was. Apparently, big black boots are tough to come by in the Kingdom. Fortunately, the kids didn’t care. T was just stoked to get a candy cane and Bodes was just stoked to get off the guys lap.

T’s Winter Concert at school was a highlight. She sang a song in English, French and Arabic and had all the words and accompanying actions down pat. The girl loves her stage. Wade and I love to watch her own it. She was awesome and I got several comments from the staff later complimenting me on her confidence and how well she did. It was a proud mama moment.

Looking at the names listed in her program makes me smile and laugh. Tessa Jane Hunt. One of these things is not like the other…

 

The Penguin Polka…Tess told me later that Mustafa always sings, “so loud!”. Can you pick Mustafa out? I can’t get the French or Arabic to load…

And when I can, or when Sophie and I drum up an idea. We try and create a little Christmas here at home.

The Polar Express and popcorn tonight. That’s the hubs folding laundry in the back. What a guy. And do you see lights? Working!? Sophie found a Christmas miracle AND “lights on a strand” at China Mart the other day. Yes, China Mart. This is my life. And I now love the Chinese more than I ever have for they made “lights on a strand” and somehow got them into the Kingdom.

We made snow. And it was a riot. We were hoping to make a snowman, but as it turns out "’Insta-snow” isn’t really wet and doesn’t really pack. But it is great for throwing, scooping, dumping and rolling around in. We made a grand mess of the front porch and had a great time doing it.

And if you thought I would forego Christmas outfits because of a lack of Christmas-ness, well then, you underestimate me. I am my mother’s daughter after all.

Tomorrow we head into Bahrain for a couple of days to spend Christmas day.