Saturday 20 / April / 2024
Christmas is a time to celebrate the bonds of togetherness, joy, and friendship that have evolved over the years. This festive season, expatriate residents from different corners of the world, who have chosen to make Oman their second home, share their special Christmas memories and tell us what this festival means to them. The Christmas spirit and exuberance exuded by those who celebrate this festival is second to none, and their happiness, truth be told, is quite infectious. Small wonder though, because after all, ‘tis the season to be jolly.
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Getting Together
What does Christmas mean to you?
Christmas for me is the most special time of the year because I love the season. It’s not just about the decorations and all the special things we have, but it’s to do with the spiritual side. It is time to renew our life and realise the sacrifices made for us. That I feel is really special. It is a time when we all get together, because I have a family in different parts of the world and we ensure that we all meet. This year, I am in Oman, but normally, I am back home. As a family, the most exciting part of it is getting together and deciding what we are going to make. We all sit together and make the sweets ourselves and not buy anything from outside.
Your favourite Christmas memory...
While we make the sweets, we also catch up and it is a time for us to bond. We make everything at home, from the cakes to the savouries. Even now, in Oman, we ensure we make everything at home. We have lovely memories, because where I come from, we used to begin our celebrations well in advance. Everyone used to come down and we used to make the decorations, so it was a nice time for us because we all used to get together, and before Christmas, we used to collect money for the events before Christmas time. Right from my childhood, I remember having these pennants for decoration, and everyone would be involved doing it. We used to go for Midnight Mass on the 24th and we’d then have a function in the building, but a week before that, we used to have carol singing, and the people at home would give us some amount of money, so everyone did their bit. We had functions like sports, talent competitions and fancy dress events. The houses were not very huge, but we could hear everyone and there was a great feeling of community spirit. This is one festival that really gets to me, and right from October itself, we start getting excited about Christmas. Life is so short, so we should all live in peace, not just with our families but with communities and the world at large.
Any advice you want to give to others on the occasion of the festive season?
We are really thankful to His Majesty and the people of Oman for allowing us to profess our religion freely, and we are really blessed that we can practice our religion without any interruption.
—Ophelia Lazarus
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Spreading Hope
What does Christmas mean to you?
No matter what happens around you, it spreads a lot of hope and joy around you. It’s not just the 25th that we look forward to, but the whole season. It’s not just about family, but the meeting of friends as well. My children look forward to being part of everything that we do, like meeting the cousins and going camping. My husband plays music in the church, and we all go carolling, so there is a lot more music in the house at this time of the year, there’s just so much joy. It just bubbles through the house and I feel it is almost infectious and affects everyone around.
Your favourite Christmas memory...
When my eldest was born, we had hand-stitched this little Santa outfit complete with little elf booties for him. He was about seven months old, and every child ever since has worn that, and my last son wore it four years ago. We also had another new addition in our family at that time, because we brought a dog home. We would have to rearrange the Christmas decorations every day, and it created so many memories. Every morning, I would wake up to chaos, because my little one and my puppy would pull down all the decorations. She was just eight weeks old, and she wanted to play with everything. My eldest was seven and my younger one was two, so he’d take everything that was sparkly, and he loved the Christmas baubles because he thought it was a ball and he would throw it at everyone.
Every day, the Christmas tree looked different. It was a mixture of emotions, but looking back now, it is just pure joy. I was furious at that time, because I was decorating the tree every day, but my husband and I found great happiness doing it. He would do the top half, and I would do the bottom.
Any advice you want to give to others on the occasion of the festive season?
Staying away from family and relatives, Christmas can be burdensome at times, because you have left your country and come, but Christmas is a time for you to safely put away all the bad emotions, and keep in touch with the people that you don’t keep in touch with. A suggestion to people would be to forgive and forget.
—Angelina Edwards
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Time to Share
What does Christmas mean to you?
It was more like a gathering for the family, because our family was split in different places, so it was hard to get everyone over, but we would invite close family and get everyone together, share some time together, share some food, so that’s what we used Christmas for. Everyone is just so busy doing what they are doing, so you don’t have the time to see the people close to you. You have to want to make time with people close to you, and it is a good time, Christmas, where everyone can just get together and spend time with each other. For me, I used to love the Christmas movies like Home Alone, where we used to sit down with the family and watch together.
Your favourite Christmas memory...
Of course, for me, presents were big, because we used to stay up excited all night, waiting until the morning when we could go down and open our presents by the tree, but my main thing was the movies, everyone sitting together, eating and watching the movies. My favourite present had to be a pair of football boots, they were a pair of gold Vapour boots that were worn by the Brazilian Ronaldo. They were quite expensive at that time, but my dad said that if I’d scored a certain number of goals that season, then I would get that for Christmas.
Any advice you want to give to others on the occasion of the festive season?
On Christmas, just have fun, remember what it is about, and stay together, because we are often too busy doing other things, and sometimes, the most important things like family are pushed aside. The best part of Christmas is realising the importance of family.
—Gerald Lami
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Friends are family
What does Christmas mean to you?
For us, Christmas is a special occasion, it is one of the biggest occasions of the year, and since we are in the Middle East, it is celebrated a bit differently. Here, because we don’t have that much family, we have family friends over, and we have special dishes that we prepare. We have our Christmas tree, and we have a number of events held by certain committees.
Your favourite Christmas memory...
I spent most of my teenage years in Canada, and the white Christmas was exceptional. When you have snow outside falling on the Christmas trees, it is one of the most amazing sights to see. I think my favourite memory was setting up the Christmas trees. That’s where everyone gets together to spend quality time.
Any advice you want to give to others on the occasion of the festive season?
The days leading up to Christmas are what brings us all together, because the preparations and the buying and shopping are time consuming, but it keeps us all together. I would like people to be happy and have a great time together.
—Lovena Gudinho
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Be grateful
What does Christmas mean to you?
Christmas for me is about family and friends. It is when people switch off from work and celebrate families. My fondest memory would have to be when I was very young and I woke up at cock crow and ran downstairs to the Christmas tree and saw presents from Santa Claus.
Your favourite Christmas memory...
My loveliest present was a blue bicycle, because I had learned how to cycle – rather badly – on my friend’s bicycle, and one Christmas my bicycle arrived. I spent the next number of weeks trying to get used to it. I had learned how to cycle, but I didn’t know how to stop the bike, and the only way I knew to do it was to jump off the bike, and then I fell straight into a ditch, but I still love that bike and really enjoyed it. As my family has grown in the form of nephews and nieces, the look on their faces when they open their presents is still one of my fondest memories. Christmas I think has become a lot more commercial now.
Any advice you want to give to others on the occasion of the festive season?
When I was growing up, we only used to get presents on our birthdays or Christmas, but now, the impact of the wait is just not there. The present at Christmas was always special, but now the world is far faster, it is all online, and kids don’t have to wait for things now. Gifts, I don’t think, are quite as special as they used to be, but Christmas is still a special time of the year.
I would ask people to be grateful for what we have, and to enjoy the time with their families. We should not take things for granted, and this is a time for us to sit back and enjoy with family and friends.
—Steph McQuaid
Special feasts on offer
If you are looking to celebrate Christmas out on the town in Oman, T Weekly does have a couple of choice locations for you to try out. For starters, you’re surely going to enjoy the lush greenery at Al Nahda Resort and Spa. “Celebrating Christmas in Oman, what a unique experience!” said Dr Mary Ann Roberta, Director Marketing and Developing at Al Nahda Hotels and Resorts. “There is nothing compared with a Midnight Christmas Eve dinner under the twinkling stars so bright while cool winds caress the face on the vast lawns of Al Nahda Resort & Santa’s sleigh bells tinkle in the distance.
“No flying sky-drawn reindeer sleigh here, instead an Arabian steed horse drawn carriage laden with gifts, canters into sight with Santa at the reigns, to the delightful squeals of the awaiting children and families enjoying their turkey and plum pudding Christmas dinner under Oman’s clear midnight skies,” she added. “Santa pays a surprise visit to the adults dancing to the live band at Waha Bar in the Khalab Restaurant.” Al Bustan Palace Hotel is also offering little ones the chance to learn to bake dee-lish Christmas treats under the twinkly lights of their newly-renovated hotel, with special feasts on offer at all of their restaurants inside the property. Eric Meloche, Executive Chef at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel at Al Bustan Palace said, “The ladies and gentlemen of Al Bustan Palace have put out all the stops to create unforgettable holiday gatherings. We hope to enliven the senses of everyone who walks through our doors and fill their hearts with the warmth and joy of the season.”
