While the beginning of December is a joyful time during which we look forward to a sea or Bushveld holiday and the little ones’ wishing lists for Christmas, this time of the year also includes deep longing and nostalgia. With Christmas, we always think of the children, grandchildren, brothers and sisters who celebrate on their own on the other side of the world. This week we talked to Thinus van der Westhuizen to find out how they celebrate Christmas in the United Arab Emirates.

1. Are there any interesting Christmas customs and traditions, or special dishes?

Here we have a mixture of cultures – in the United Arab Emirates you will find people from a lot of different countries. But on the whole, even though it is a country in the Middle East, Christmas is celebrated very much in a traditional European way.
To me the best of this country is the way many different races and cultures can live together and show respect to one another; it just shows what can be done.
But Santa Claus may be depicted more often on a camel than on a sleigh.
When I was in Mozambique we came ashore on a traditional “dhow” with the children waiting for us on the beach.

2. Are there beautiful Christmas lights in your neighbourhood or a new Christmas craze in your country?

The country is well known for its people going out of their way with fireworks and Christmas lights, and they do games, lately also with dancing drones, which is something different.
And I think the people in Dubai are competing to see who can build the largest Christmas tree.

3. Do you stick to the old traditional dishes and celebrations or do you celebrate Christmas in new ways?

As mentioned above, most of the people in this country are in fact foreigners, and when we had Christmas brunches we kept it very much traditional. This also brought them some taste memories from home, which was very special.

Tell us some of your anecdotes from previous Christmas celebrations.

In Mozambique I was working on Bazaruto Island. There were children who did not have much, so we as a hotel went to visit the children during Christmas and made a day of it. It was incredibly special to see the intense joy in the eyes of those children.