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ejc
Joined: 08 Aug 2011
Posts: 13
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 Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 2:25 am Post subject: Christmas - planning ahead |
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1. Do foreigners get Christmas off?
2. If so, how many days?
3. And what's the protocol for leaving the country from a small city? I don't think the Tabuk airport services many places.. so would i have to travel to Jeddah or Riyadh first?
I want to travel while I'm in Saudi and I'm trying to figure out when/how this will work.. |
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Middle East Beast
Joined: 05 Mar 2008
Posts: 836
Location: Up a tree
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| Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 2:43 am Post subject: |
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You don't get Christmas off unless it happens to fall on a weekend (i.e. Thu or Fri). As such, there are no scheduled Christmas holidays.
Also, Christmas decorations are illegal, and I wouldn't go around Tabuk caroling. 
Regarding travel, to fly out of KSA I always had to go to one of the big three airports--DMM, RUH, or JED. And I'll tell ya, gettin' from Taif to JED was one hell of a trip. 
MEB  |
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blackwellben
Joined: 06 Nov 2010
Posts: 121
Location: Saudi Arabia
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| Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 5:39 am Post subject: |
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ejc
Before summer vacation, it was rumored Tabuk's airport had a direct flight into Egypt, but the rumor came only days before the vacation, after everyone had booked taxis to Amman's airport to connect elsewhere. Which is preferable (in the opinion of most) to flying out of the country via Jeddah or Riyadh.
I recall a recruitment ad claiming its teachers received time off for Christmas, but I agree with MEB that it's more widely expected (in matters of business) expats forego their cultural traditions for those of their host.
And MEB is right that Christmas (and Valentine's) decorations are illegal, but when we went looking anyway, after perusing a dozen stores, a store manager noticed our discriminating possible surrogates and motioned us, furtively, like a drug-dealer standing by an alley, to shelves along a back and corner wall to reveal more overtly Christmas-y items hidden beneath innocuous stock.
We figured there were enough Asians privately celebrating Christmas in Tabuk to warrant an inventory.
A key word is discretion, in all things. |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 12:57 pm Post subject: |
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Christmas, Easter, and Sundays are all regular workdays in the Gulf. Keep in mind that in the US, we completely ignore the Muslim holidays and they rarely, if ever, get any time off for their holidays in the vast majority of the country.
Outside of Saudi they are more tolerant of decorations in that they sell them and the stores that cater to Christian expats do decorate. But it is very low key there too.
VS |
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Middle East Beast
Joined: 05 Mar 2008
Posts: 836
Location: Up a tree
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| Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 1:51 pm Post subject: |
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When I was in Fujairah, UAE, I saw a Christmas display in one of the major department stores with Santa Claus! 
There were also Christmas parties among the expats w/o fear of the government.
A far cry from KSA. There's absolutely no tolerance there for open displays of Christmas--if you live on a western compound you can get away with it to an extent, though. The high walls shield the locals from viewing them.
MEB
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It's Scary!
Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 823
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| Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 2:09 pm Post subject: |
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They do have the blinking lights in KSA, but they call them something different like "festive lights" or something!
It's ridiculous! |
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ejc
Joined: 08 Aug 2011
Posts: 13
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| Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 6:21 pm Post subject: |
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ZERO days off for Christmas? Very depressing, but I probably should have expected it. I'll have to travel on Islamic holidays then..
@blackwellben - Travelling abroad from Jordan's airport is a good idea - but looking it up, I see it's 250 miles from Tabuk?? Isn't that an expensive taxi ride? (On a side note, Christmas in Egypt sounds pretty cool..)
@MEB - Did you take a taxi from Taif to JED?
The no-decorations thing doesn't bother me much. But I insist on good food at least..! |
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Middle East Beast
Joined: 05 Mar 2008
Posts: 836
Location: Up a tree
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| Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 6:50 pm Post subject: |
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| ejc wrote: |
@MEB - Did you take a taxi from Taif to JED?
The no-decorations thing doesn't bother me much. But I insist on good food at least..! |
Yeah, a kind of taxi. My colleagues and I had to depend on our Saudi supervisor's friend to take us. But the three-hour ride there/back was like the car chase scene in The French Connection. Unbelievable trek through mountains with two-lane roads (i.e. one in each direction--supposedly) with cars passing on blind curves. One time my driver was passing a rig. Suddenly I looked out the left side of our car to see another rig passing us while we were passing the first rig!!!
Basically, it was a pain in the a_ _ going on vacation from Taif. And, of course, Jeddah airport sucks as do all Saudi airports. If you can fly out of Bahrain it's much better.
Regarding dinner, fine for you to prepare a nice Christmas feast...just don't hand out flyers in Tabuk.
MEB |
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blackwellben
Joined: 06 Nov 2010
Posts: 121
Location: Saudi Arabia
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| Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 7:11 pm Post subject: |
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| ejc wrote: |
| Travelling abroad from Jordan's airport is a good idea - but looking it up, I see it's 250 miles from Tabuk?? Isn't that an expensive taxi ride? |
Flights out of Tabuk are more so when the objective is an airport with the most connecting flights. Tabuk has an international airport in name only, presently. |
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mashkif
Joined: 17 Aug 2010
Posts: 178
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| Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:24 pm Post subject: |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
Christmas, Easter, and Sundays are all regular workdays in the Gulf. Keep in mind that in the US, we completely ignore the Muslim holidays and they rarely, if ever, get any time off for their holidays in the vast majority of the country.
Outside of Saudi they are more tolerant of decorations in that they sell them and the stores that cater to Christian expats do decorate. But it is very low key there too.
VS |
" in the US, we completely ignore the Muslim holidays and they rarely, if ever, get any time off for their holidays in the vast majority of the country. "
You say that in an accusatory way as if we're doing something wrong. Bear in mind that a) Muslims make 0.5% of the US population and b) what you say is true of every other non-Christian religion.
OTOH, in Saudi Arabia Christians make up a damn sight greater proportion of the population than Muslims in America, so the Saudis could show some consideration. All their neighbors sure do. It's all about chauvinism.
But anyway, as some else said, everything is available in Saudi Arabia - discreetly  |
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johnslat
Joined: 21 Jan 2003
Posts: 13859
Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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| Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:49 pm Post subject: |
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Dear mashkif,
" . . . in Saudi Arabia Christians make up a damn sight greater proportion of the population than Muslims in America . . ."
OK, math isn't my strong point, but you wrote that the Muslim population in the US (citizens, I assume, not "guest workers") is 0.5 of the population.
The current population of Saudi Arabia is estimated to be about 28 million citizens.
The number of Christians is estimated to be about a million and a half.
So, that means the number of Christians can be expressed as this fraction: 1/29.5
And, when you convert that to a decimal, you get this:
.3448 (and a remainder of eight)
So, wouldn't that mean there are more Muslims in the US than there are Christians in Saudi?
Sorry if my math is screwed up - but hey, I'm an English teacher.
Regards,
John |
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It's Scary!
Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 823
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| Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 9:55 pm Post subject: |
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Ah! Christmas in Jeddah! The last Christmas that my wife, son and I had there was spent out at the Sheraton beach bungalow that Raytheon provided for its employees. It was heaven as others weren't out there and the turkey that Raytheon always provides its employees for Thanksgiving was splendid!
Good times...good times...
It's why I don't have so many negative feelings about Saudi Arabia! |
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veiledsentiments
Joined: 20 Feb 2003
Posts: 17644
Location: USA
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| Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 2:18 am Post subject: |
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| mashkif wrote: |
| OTOH, in Saudi Arabia Christians make up a damn sight greater proportion of the population than Muslims in America, so the Saudis could show some consideration. All their neighbors sure do. It's all about chauvinism. |
None of the other countries in the Gulf give holidays for Christmas though they allow celebration on our own time and even have churches.
And speaking of chauvinism... I'm referring to Muslims who are American citizens... but not given equal rights or respect it would seem to me.
We are mere guest workers and have only the right to "demand" what is written in our contract.
This isn't about counting noses.
VS |
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It's Scary!
Joined: 17 Apr 2011
Posts: 823
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| Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 3:31 am Post subject: |
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| veiledsentiments wrote: |
| mashkif wrote: |
| OTOH, in Saudi Arabia Christians make up a damn sight greater proportion of the population than Muslims in America, so the Saudis could show some consideration. All their neighbors sure do. It's all about chauvinism. |
None of the other countries in the Gulf give holidays for Christmas though they allow celebration on our own time and even have churches.
And speaking of chauvinism... I'm referring to Muslims who are American citizens... but not given equal rights or respect it would seem to me.
We are mere guest workers and have only the right to "demand" what is written in our contract.
This isn't about counting noses.
VS |
Very slight correction here since this has just been instituted:
http://www.hct.ac.ae/academic-calendar/
Look at what happens between 18 December and January 6. A coincidence?
It's a joke as this is just to accommodate Emirati families only and a windfall to others! |
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rtm
Joined: 13 Apr 2007
Posts: 1003
Location: US
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| Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2011 4:49 am Post subject: |
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| johnslat wrote: |
The current population of Saudi Arabia is estimated to be about 28 million citizens.
The number of Christians is estimated to be about a million and a half.
So, that means the number of Christians can be expressed as this fraction: 1/29.5
And, when you convert that to a decimal, you get this:
.3448 (and a remainder of eight)
So, wouldn't that mean there are more Muslims in the US than there are Christians in Saudi?
Sorry if my math is screwed up - but hey, I'm an English teacher.
Regards,
John |
Actually, yeah, it is a bit screwed up.
If there are an estimated 1.5 million Christians out of an estimated 28 million citizens, that'd be 1.5/28 = .0537. That means that over 5% of the population is Christian. That's 10x what mashkif said is the Muslim population in the US - a number which is pretty on-par with the estimate the Pew Research Center gives (1.4 million, or 0.6% of the population of the US). |
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