Thread: Riyadh: the Beautiful, the Serene

Christmas Tiptoes Into Saudi Arabia With Trees and Mariah Carey

There’s a little more festive cheer in Riyadh nowadays, but you still have to know where to look.

By Donna Abu-Nasr
December 22, 2021


Wreaths and decorations in a store window in Riyadh. Photographer: Tasneem Alsultan/Bloomberg

It’s that time of year again, and hearing the perennial “All I Want for Christmas Is You” in stores and restaurants will hardly make anyone stop in their tracks. Except, that is, if you’re in Saudi Arabia.

The kingdom prohibits the public practice of any religion other than Islam and allows no churches or places of worship except for mosques. Previously, Christmas trees ordered from abroad were seized by customs, as were other religious accoutrement such as Buddha statues. But this year, there’s a little more festive cheer in a society whose leadership now allows music, gender mixing and considers fun as a nascent industry.

Christmas trees for sale at a toy store in Riyadh on Dec. 21.
Photographer: Tasneem Alsultan/Bloomberg

On the streets of Riyadh, there is nothing that explicitly screams Christmas, unlike in Dubai. Yet, there’s a sense that Santa is following St. Valentine in tiptoeing his way into a city that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman wants to turn into a place that can rival its Emirati neighbor as a magnet for expats and a regional headquarters for global companies. Opening up the conservative kingdom is key to attracting those foreigners.

At a popular restaurant in the center of the Saudi capital, Mariah Carey’s hit played to diners. Determined shoppers can find trees on permanent open display and not hidden in a back room anymore, along with reindeer headbands, Santa hats and baubles.

More patisseries are offering yule log-shaped cakes. A furniture store had a prominent display of wreaths and red candles. Some hotels have subtle decorations in the lobby. One had snowflakes hanging over glass shelves filled with panettone, bottles of fizzy non-alcoholic wine and poinsettias. Another had gifts boxes rising from the floor in the shape of a tree.

A home store with a wreath and red candle decorations.
Photographer: Tasneem Alsultan/Bloomberg

The reactions of Saudis have been mixed, reflecting the divisions over the social changes in the birthplace of Islam. Nora, a Saudi woman walking past a Christmas tree in a store window, said she didn’t mind seeing a symbol of a Christian celebration in Riyadh. “They respect us. We respect them. It’s their faith,” she said.

Others have not been so welcoming. While some Saudis have been buying Christmas trees, others have been walking in to complain about the merchandise, saying it was forbidden under Islam to stock such items, according to store managers. When asked whether her shop carried Christmas decorations, a Saudi saleswoman said: “Thank God, we don’t.”

But that has not affected sales at the few, mainly toy stores in Riyadh that sell Christmas decorations. Sales are better than in previous years and owners and managers feel less nervous about displaying the items publicly. Still, the owners and managers declined to be identified for fear of retribution in a country that’s been cracking down on any hint of dissent in recent years.

Decorations for sale in a toy store in Riyadh.
Photographer: Tasneem Alsultan/Bloomberg

One manager said he’s displaying Christmas trees openly for the first time. He used to keep them in a separate room in previous years. In the shop next door, a salesman said he’s put the trees in the back of the store, without unfolding the branches so as not to attract too much attention. A few meters away, another manager said he wasn’t too worried. His shop glittered with ornaments, streamers, stars and party hats. The Saudis who are unhappy with such a sight should be excused, he said. They need time to get used to it.

Yet as Christmas comes quietly for those who want it, alcohol remains banned despite rumors that it will one day become legal in some parts of the country. It’s only available on the black market at exorbitant prices. But this year there's plenty of one drink on store shelves that used to be tough to find around the holidays: tonic water. (Gin not included.)

A Greek I knew brought some anise oil from home and managed to acquire some medical pure alcohol. That oil, some water and alcohol made Ouzo.

I once got a bottle of wine out of the Austrian embassy. But my self made wine from white grape juice, sugar and baking yeast tasted better. Initially i thought i had to drain it in the sink, but adding 10% of red grape juice at bottling, when fermenting was finished, made it quite good after a few weeks in the refrigerator.