Ramadan Kareem!

It is another holy month of Ramadan for our Muslim brothers and colleagues. Today marks the first day of Ramadan in which Muslims fast from sunrise to sunset.

Here are few things to remember during Ramadan.

Eating is not allowed in public areas. For years I have been working in UAE in an environment with mixed religion, I and most of my colleagues are accustomed not to eat openly in the office during Ramadan. It became a sort of common and implied gesture to respect our colleagues who are fasting. We drink our coffee or take our meals in the pantry or in any private and secluded areas.

Majority of the restaurants are closed until Suhoor or the breaking of the fast. In hotels, though they keep one restaurant open for non-Muslims, the windows and doors are covered with curtains so there is no visibility of food from the outside.

Working hours are shorter during Ramadan time. Generally Muslims will work for 6 hours only. For my company, Muslims will work from 9am to 3pm and for non-Muslims 9am to 4pm. Other companies work only for six hours regardless if you are Muslim or not.

So, if you happen to have business meetings during Ramadan and it is your first time here in UAE, it is better to check first their Ramadan office hours.

Ramadan time applies to any establishments from shopping malls to offices.

Majority of the bars and discotheques are closed too during Ramadan. If they are open, there are no live music and entertainment. I remember my first visit to a bar during Ramadan. It felt very odd because the ambience was very quiet. No upbeat and loud music. People just drank and talked.

Lastly, the commonly used greetings during this Holy Month are “Ramadan Kareem” or “Ramadan Mubarak”.

My first Christmas in this part of the world was in 2002 and I felt like an orphan at that time because I was wondering where and to whom I would celebrate this occasion. I come from a country that celebrates exaggeratedly the Festive Season. In fact, Christmas commences as soon as the ‘beer’ month starts. We always refer the months in the last quarter of the year as ‘beer month’ simply because these months end in ‘ber’.

Anyway, as early as September, you can already see Christmas decors and lights in the streets, at homes and occasionally in the malls. By November the Christmas decorations are fully set-up as December is already considered quite late. Then it is marked with ‘Misa de Gallo’ or sometimes known as midnight or rooster’s mass because it starts at four o’clock in the chilly morning of December. It commences every 16th of December and culminates on the eve of Christmas. It is a total of nine days mass celebration in the Roman Catholic Church, a unique tradition in my home country.

Then like in any part of the world, there is the rush gift shopping for family and friends, and the busy atmosphere in the kitchen for the ‘noche buena’, the dinner on the eve of Christmas.

Indeed back home the celebration of Christmas is much anticipated and it is marked with the mood of joy and festivity.

Of course, this scenario is expectedly to be poles apart here. Christmas is still celebrated here and the government of UAE has been very kind to allow such open celebration considering that this is a Muslim country. Generally the hotels host various activities all throughout the festive season. The events stretch from the classic Christmas caroling, Christmas tree lightings, Christmas brunch & dinner and Christmas parties.

Companies which are managed by Western origins generally host Christmas parties for there staff and 25th December is holiday for them. However, for organizations particularly the big ones with staff of diverse origins and cultures, Christmas day means another ordinary working day only. Sometimes the bosses allow Christian staff to leave the office earlier to be able to celebrate Christmas. Others ensure that Christians are scheduled or prioritized for off day on Christmas day.

It is really a give and take relationship among the staff because the same arrangement happens during Muslims holidays.

Anyway for those, who are in shoestring budget and cannot afford to celebrate Christmas in the hotels, typically organize a small gathering at home with their friends. Sometimes when there is no venue to host the party, it is then celebrated in the park or at the beach.

Christmas celebration here is quite simple but still I am personally grateful that we are able to celebrate and carry out our traditions despite of the religious difference among the expats and the host country.

Whatever plans you have for the festive season, I wish each one of you a Merry Christmas!

So, let’s wrap up the public holidays that took place this December.

Eid Al-Adha
The occasion of Eid Al-Adha was a three day public holiday for private sectors which started on Thursday, November 26 until Saturday, November 28. As the weekend here is Friday and Saturday, the public holidays that fell on weekends were forfeited. Still it was great to be off on Thursday!

By the way, Eid Al-Adha is a three day festivity that takes place at the end of Hajj, an annual pilgrimage of Muslims in Mecca.

UAE National Day
The 38th National Day of UAE was celebrated last 2nd of December and it was marked by a 45 minutes fireworks. It aimed to hold the record of the world’s longest fireworks in Book of Guinness.

As much as I wanted to go out during National Day to witness the various events, I was traumatized in my experience in 2007. Since then I never go out on this particular day.

This event is always anticipated with grand celebration. The streets are adorned with lights and figures which is ‘38’ this year. It represents the number of years since the country was founded. The cars which are dressed up in the color of UAE flag parade in the streets while the drivers keep sounding their horns. Others wave the flags and banners of UAE flag.

The streets are really packed with people and cars.

This was the reason that took me more than six hours to go home in 2007. I was new in Abu Dhabi and I never thought that it would be a nightmare to go out this time. My friend and I could not find any taxi at all. Desperate to go home, we ended up agreeing to pay Dhs 50 per person to a car owner who took advantage of the situation.

It also took us more than an hour to travel from the mall to my home in which in normal circumstances, it is 15 minutes drive only.

Islamic New Year
It is not yet announced but Islamic New Year may take place between December 17 or 18. If it falls on Thursday, 17th December then it signifies another day off for us.

Honestly, I always look forward for any public holidays because it gives me time to write and complete my projects.

The city is now in F1 fever until 1st November 2009.

Here are the highlights of the events during Formula 1 starting October 30th to November 1st.

• Packed with back to back concert – Beyonce’s concert on 29th October, Jamiroquia on 30th October, Kings of Leon and 31st October and Aerosmith on 1st November.

• Amber Lounge – F1 fans will definitely wish to attend this ultimate party experience with lots and lots of booz and face-to-face meeting experience with famous celebrities.

• The sophisticated and state-of-the-art Yas Marina Circuit is opened for the first time for the 2009 Formula 1™ Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

The ticket price ranges from AED 1600 to AED 2500. The tickets are for three days access to the circuit and including the concerts.

Join the fun!