Over the next few weeks, I am going to share some friends’ Christmas events that had huge impacts on those who experienced them. I hope this week that you enjoy Amanda’s experience:
Imagine a Christmas without: advent calendars eagerly counting down the days, cheerful folks humming and singing carols, advertisements appearing on the television, radio, or in store window displays, absence of lights and decorations, lack of images of Christ and even Santa Claus as well as anything else associated with the holiday, no Christmas family specials are offered to be viewed, where there is no reference to Christmas in school, and the 25th day of December is considered an ordinary working business day. Does such a place exist; you’re wondering?
Envision a place where the Western Society’s rules don’t come into play. Where the hot burning sun beats below on the black fabric wearing residents and where the sand creates and disrupts the landscaping of the location. This is where an intrepid traveler’s heritage is buried and swallowed whole by the enforcement of the Saharan culture of the people. This place is no other than Saudi Arabia.
When people hear that I lived in Saudi Arabia, they automatically think: oh how horrible. In reality though I didn’t mind living there one bit. So what if I had to live without life’s minuscule trifles; I survived didn’t I? People really have no idea what they are missing if they have not lived in an area of the Middle East. It is like being in the middle of two colliding worlds at once; western society (I lived on an American compound) interspersed with Saudi customs. It is a thrill after another; never knowing what to expect.
Though only living there for barely two years; the experiences and opportunities before me changed how I viewed life. The material things I possessed and desired were taken away from me and I held on by the mere threads of life’s existence. How I viewed life at a ten year old was distorted. My American traditions along with my faith were left behind in the dust for those before to stare at along with my footprints.
As far as the Saudis were concerned, Christmas has been a dead tradition from the start despite the ironic nature that Christmas did, in fact, commence in the region of the Middle East, only a few countries over. It was as if Christmas had been erased completely from all knowledge.
Everyone wonders what it would be like if advertising didn’t begin as early as July. Well what if advertising didn’t occur at all? Advertising tends to influence an individual’s thought and actions. The lack of advertising and subliminal messages encouraged my family and I to seek out the true meaning of Christmas.
Everyone tends to view Christmas as wrapped boxed presents; you celebrate it so you have to receive the holiday in open arms, right? Wrong! Christmas is unjustified with only the singing of carols, advertising, and presents. Christmas becomes Christmas when it is spent in the company of your loved ones. You have to give, in order to receive.
Really no one has an idea of what it is like not being reminded constantly that Christmas is just around the corner. Christmas doesn’t just appear, you have to be the one that makes it happen. If the holiday is celebrated in Saudi Arabia; it is done so in the privacy of your own home.
Christmastime took on a whole new meaning living in Saudi Arabia. As all religious items could not be shipped including anything associated with religious holidays, which meant our beloved Xmas tree had to remain in the dark of the storage back in the states never glimpsing the joyful season. The lack of these mere objects did not make this cheery season any less cheery.
If Christmas couldn’t come to us, we would make it ourselves. We were busy elves that December. My Mom obtained materials to recreate a festive atmosphere in our house. At home, we set to work drawing a lovely thirteen-foot tree on green paper that would be cut out and stuck on the wall of the living room. Once up, the tree looked a sorry, pitiful sight to behold. What was missing we wondered? Ah ha! The tree needs ornaments. We started again cutting out a wonderful array of shapes ranging from candy canes to Santa’s. Eagerly, we plastered the green tree from the summit point to the base with paper ornaments, paper lights, paper ornaments, and topped it all off with a one and a half foot yellow star. Our living room was complete in its holiday décor.
Everything else dealing with Christmas was also done DIY. Since our stockings couldn’t be bought over, we had to make them. My sister and I enjoyed the craft project of sewing two pieces of felt together and decorating them with our names and other embellishments. The wrapping paper was extra special that year as it wasn’t the ordinary store bought kind; it was anything we could get our hands on: bulletin board paper, newspaper, bags, or anything else that would work.
The Christmas I spent in Saudi Arabia I will forever treasure as it was a special one because of its sacred meaning, unadvertised value, and low-key occasion. This one Christmas I learned the true meaning of the holiday. This is because of all of our DIY work. The ideal surroundings of the Middle East will forever impress this memorable experience into my memory.
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