Christmas 2009

It was a balmy evening with clear skies on Christmas Eve when people gathered in our house and on our front lawn to enjoy an evening of caroling, music and feasting. People brought treats that are popular in their own countries at this time of year so we ended up with a wide variety of food, mainly sweets such as mince pies, white christmas slice, peppermint slice, pavlova, chocolates and other fattening treats but whose worrying !!!!!!
Maybe to some it could seem like a 'non event' but here in a largely Islamic country it is quite unique and a time for expats to get together and create their own Christmas spirit where everything revolves around the muslim calendar and the many Islamic holidays.

We sang all the old favourite carols as we held our candles to help us read the words. Although it was on a very much smaller scale it reminded me of the times when we use to take the children to Carols by Candlelight in Elder Park in Adelaide. The main difference was not only the size but that this time we didn't need to drive there, find our little spot on the grass, put down our blankets and wait an hour or two before the proceedings began.
Christmas day on the other hand was a quiet affair as we slept in and then spent the rest of the day at home catching up on calls to family and friends and making the most of the time difference between here and Australia to catch people as they arrived home from their day out. In the evening we went to a nice restaurant for dinner with some friends from work and enjoyed a 5 course Christmas meal which included the traditional turkey and christmas pudding.
Back to reality today as we've headed back to work, exams and the marking of papers. Roll on the end of semester .........

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