Every year around Christmas, I try to make at least one Christmas post. You can find past ones at this link. Many of those are memories from my childhood. It’s getting to the point where I can’t remember what memories I’ve posted. I know I made at least one duplicate post.

I looked back over posts in December of each year since I started the blog, and couldn’t find any about this. 1981 was our first Christmas  in Saudi Arabia. I had arrived there in June, Lynda and the children in September. Sometime around November, one of the Saudi Arabian government ministries sent a notice out to all companies, or perhaps those that were heavy in expatriate employees. The notice said that celebrations of Christmas in the workplace were not allowed. No decorations, no parties. The notice further stated that expatriates better not make any Christmas displays at their residences that can be seen from outside. It promised to be a very blah Christmas for us.

But at that time, two things happened to help cheer things up. In the souks, usually in the shops way towards the back, we found lots of Christmas decorations for sale. Strings of lights, nativity sets, even artificial Christmas trees. One shop off by itself, on a main street but not in the shopping district, was run by the American wife of a Saudi. She had lots of Christmas stuff. We were able to buy everything we needed. We didn’t put lights in our apartment windows, but inside, you knew it was Christmastime.

The other thing that happened, in late November if I remember correctly, King Khalid announced an official visit to our town, Al Khobar, to take place fairly soon, maybe just after the first of the year. The native population immediately set to work preparing for the royal visit. Every company erected archways over city streets and decorated them with much Arabic writing and…lights! They put strings of light all over these arches, wound them around the upright members and across the top. Drive down any main street in Al Khobar and you would pass lit up arches every hundred feet.

[Added 10 Dec 2023] Seems like I never finished writing this before I posted it.

So in early December, with no Christmas lights allowed, local businesses began erecting archways of lights over city streets to welcome the king. It was a golden opportunity for us. We drove the streets of Al Khobar and told the kids to look at all the Christmas lights. No, they didn’t look quite like they would at home, but Charles and Sara were young enough they didn’t know the difference. In fact, they probably don’t remember it.

So there it is, a Christmas memory. Making do in a foreign land where Christmas could not be celebrated openly. I wish I had a photo of that Christmas season. I might, but if so it’s buried deep in a box somewhere in the mess of this building we call a home.