by Julian Arenas
The UAE has set festive things to do for the families during the winter season and for them to have fun. Even though the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a Muslim country, the country is welcoming and more tolerant to Christians.
"I have met a lot of amazing people, but I have held onto people that have been my family and have always been there for me to help"
The UAE has set festive things to do for the families during the winter season and for them to have fun. Even though the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a Muslim country, the country is welcoming and more tolerant to Christians.
The peaceful co-existence of Muslim and Christian citizens in this country has been hailed as a model for other countries where both religious groups have witnessed violent clashes. When it comes to celebrating Christmas, Muslim Emiratis are as excited as the Christians.
When it comes to the Christmas season in the UAE, Christmas trees, lights and decorations are everywhere. However, due to COVID-19 pandemic, the UAE government instituted health protocols that made their usual festive celebration of Christmas more muted but still jolly this year.
The UAE set festive events for its Christian citizens to celebrate their traditional religious festival. The country has also supported and become even more open to different types of communities and traditions of the people that are living outside the country.
Celebrating a family tradition is hard for workers living far from their families. So the UAE government set up events to make OFW’s beat their homesickness.
This year’s Expo 2020 featured the “Paskong Pinoy sa World Expo”. In his special video message, UAE’s minister of Culture and Youth, H.E. Noura bint Mohammed Al Kaabi, lauded the Filipino workers' dedication and hardwork that contributed to the growth of UAE.
“We in the UAE admire the work, culture and the over-friendly and smiling of our brothers and sisters from the Philippines. You have become an integral part of our social fabric,” he said.
Before the pandemic, Filipino Catholics would be at church to complete the traditional nine-day “Simbang Gabi' (evening mass)'. In addition to that, Simbang Gabi is a Filipino advent tradition which honors the Blessed Mother.
The reason why Filipinos celebrate Simbang Gabi is because in the earlier days, when Spanish ruled over the Philippines as a practical compromise of the farmers, which began before sunrise to avoid the noonday heat out in the fields.
This led to the distinct feature of the Philippines and how it became a symbol of sharing — a tradition that Filipinos bring with them wherever they may be.
"We in the UAE admire the work, culture and the over-friendly and smiling of our brothers and sisters from the Philippines. You have become an integral part of our social fabric"
With the increase of UAE’s tolerance towards non-Muslim holidays, the UAE has even mandated that its weekends be switched to Saturday and Sunday in order to catch up with global standards and to give non-Muslim residents to attend religious gatherings scheduled on Sundays.
The country is host to a number of Christian expats from different denominations like Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox, Protestants and Evangelicals.
The local Christian community in UAE has also set up an event for OFWs living alone in the country to come and celebrate with them at the church.
An OFW, Mox Perpetua said that “I have met a lot of amazing people, but I have held onto people that have been my family and have always been there for me to help”.
He added that even if it is not Christmas, the season will always be celebrated for as long as we have Christ in our hearts.
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