Wishing all my readers a very Merry Christmas!
May the season bring you peace, joy, and above all, time — time with the people you love, time to rest, and time to look back on the year with gratitude.
From my family to yours: Merry Christmas and a wonderful festive season ahead.
Christmas in Dubai
People are often surprised to learn how warmly Christmas is celebrated in Dubai. In a city where nearly ninety per cent of residents come from somewhere else, December belongs to everyone: giant decorated trees rise in the malls, carols echo through hotel lobbies, and festive markets sell mulled drinks in thirty-degree sunshine. The season here is less about snow and more about togetherness — which, if you think about it, was always the point.
Where the season comes alive
The churches of Dubai — St. Mary's in Oud Metha chief among them — hold midnight masses that overflow into their courtyards, in languages from Malayalam and Tagalog to Arabic and English. Winter markets appear at Madinat Jumeirah and downtown, the Global Village adds festive shows to its season, and hotel brunches turn Christmas lunch into an art form. For families far from home, these gatherings become the year's anchor.
A season shared across faiths
What makes a Gulf Christmas special is who you share it with. Colleagues who celebrate Eid exchange sweets with neighbours who celebrate Diwali and friends who trim trees — and the UAE has made this openness official policy, declaring a national Year of Tolerance shortly after this greeting was first written. On this journal we have marked them all — see Eid Mubarak and Christmas Greetings 2022 — because the festivals differ, but the wish underneath is identical: peace to your house.
A thought to carry into the new year
However and wherever you celebrate, may the closing days of the year be gentle to you. Hold your people close, forgive what needs forgiving, and step into January lighter than you entered December. And when the fireworks fade, the wish from this journal remains the one at the top of this page — written in 2018, meant for always.
