Christians in the UAE are well catered for with a large mix of churches and parishes to attend with services and masses in as many languages as there are nationalities, or nearly.
With Christmas just around the corner worshippers will be able to attend either morning or afternoon mass before going to midnight high mass if they so wish. Some carol singing has been organised in most parishes on Christmas Eve.
Most emirates have a Christian place of worship with scheduled weekly services throughout the year. St Francis of Assisi Church in Jebel Ali is having an open door policy on Christmas Day for anybody feeling lonely at this time of year. They are also organising a lunch for the poor and lonely on Christmas day.
On the east coast choirs in Dibba, Fujairah and Khor Fakhan linked to the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help will be visiting homes to sing Christmas carols. Father Michael Cardoz said the 35-strong church choir goes around and sings to families and people who invite them.
Roman Catholics and Protestants celebrate Christmas on December 25. Greek, Syrian, and Ethiopian orthodox churches celebrate on January 6 and Armenian Christians celebrate on it January 18.
The Christmas season starts on Christmas Eve, or the night that Jesus Christ was born and lasts until January 6, or the day that the Wise Men visited the child Jesus, celebrated as the Epiphany.
In the Philippines, at Christmas people eat native foods such as puto bumbong rice steamed inside a bumbong, or small bamboo tube, bibingka rice cake with salted eggs and fresh coconut meat and suman steamed rice wrapped in banana leaves outside the church.
Traditional foods served for the evening meal are ham or roast pig, cheeses, spring rolls, noodle dishes, chestnuts, and hot tsokolate (a native chocolate drink) and salabat (ginger tea).
In India, the Christmas lunch menu is roast duck, sometimes pork and mince pies and rice dumplings. In the south, there are appams pancakes made of a batter of rice flour and coconut milk enjoyed with mutton stew. There is avial, murukku a fried pretzel made of lentil and rice flour and athirasam gracing the table alongside the Christmas pudding.
The Arabic Christmas meal often features meat or chicken, traditional refreshments and a dessert called Bûche de Noël, a French Christmas cake decorated to look like a yule log.
Traditionally throughout the Middle East people visit friends on Christmas morning and are offered coffee, liqueurs and sugared almonds. Lunch consists of chicken and rice, and kubbeh, which is made of crushed boiled wheat or burghul mixed with meat, onion, salt and pepper.
In the United Kingdom, Christmas pudding and mince pies are top fare. Turkey with all the trimmings, cranberry sauce and at least six vegetables are traditional.
Church services
Abu Dhabi
St Joseph’s Cathedral, 02 4461929
Dec 24 8pm mass, 11pm carol singing, Midnight high mass
Dec 25 Christmas services at 7am, 9am, 4pm, 5pm, 6pm, 7pm
Dubai
St Mary’s Church, 04 3370087, 04 3358504
Dec 24 morning mass in English 6.15am, 7am, 9am Christmas mass 4.30pm, 7.30pm, Midnight high mass French service at 6pm and Arabic service at 9pm
Dec 25 in English 6.15am, 7.15am, 8.30am, 10 am, 3pm, 4.30pm, 6pm, 7.30pm. In Italian 11.30 am and in Sri Lankan 11.30 am in the mini hall. Tamil 8pm in main hall and Arabic at 9pm in main church.
Jebel Ali
St Francis of Assisi Church,
Dec 24 Carol singing 6pm, Family mass 6.30pm, English mass 8pm, Carol singing 10pm, Syro Malankara Mass 11pm, Malayalam Mass 00.30
Dec 25 English mass at 6.30am, 8am and 9am, Singhalese mass at 10am in main church, German mass at 10.30am, English mass 11am in parish hall, Spanish mass at 11.30am, Italian mass at 12.30pm, French at mass at 4.30pm and Korean mass at 5pm in parish hall. Open house from 2.30pm to 10pm.
Sharjah
St Michael’s Church, 06 5662424, 5662049
Dec 24 8.30pm, carol singing at 11pm followed by midnight mass
Dec 25 Christmas service at 8am, 9.30am, 5.30pm, 7pm, 8pm
Al Ain
St Mary’s Church, 03 7214417
Dec 24 Carol singing at 11pm, Confession service at 11.45pm, High Mass at midnight
Dec 25 Christmas service at 8am, a Pakistani mass at midday, evening mass at 6pm and 7.30pm
Fujairah
Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 09 2231377
Dec 24 Evening mass at 9pm
Dec 25 10am and 7.30pm.
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